By Thulani Gqirana
Cape Town – If the Western Cape’s Cape Party gets 5 000 votes this election, they intend to start working towards “freeing” the province from South Africa.
The Cape Party, which has apparently been in existence since 2007, has called on voters to support its bid to secede from the Republic of South Africa.
“While the jury might still be out on the long-term effects of Brexit (Britain’s exit from the European Union), the positive implications and effects of the Western Cape seceding from the greater South Africa are indisputable, hence our CapeExit strategy for this coming local election,” party leader Jack Miller said in a statement on Thursday.
While they did not expect to win, they were hoping for a minimum of 5 000 votes to be able to have a voice in running the Cape. This would add a new dimension to the discussions affecting those living in the “Cape Nation”, Miller said.
What a bunch of idiots: Cape Party still wants to 'free' Western Cape from rest of SA https://t.co/gdohVIoZU7 pic.twitter.com/JYHXK7weyI
— Matthew Buckland (@matthewbuckland) July 7, 2016
The party had about 10 candidates contesting more than 40 wards in the Western Cape.
He said, legally, there was nothing stopping the Western Cape from seceding from South Africa.
Exiting would allow the fully-independent “Cape Nation” to negotiate its own international trading agreements.
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“This would mean it would not be susceptible to the blanket tarring of the brush from national government’s ’emotionally driven economic policy’, which runs the risk of the country being downgraded to junk status, something which would be avoided by the Cape being on its own.”
It would be possible to cut taxes and double the services, Miller claimed.
The ever-relevant Cape Party is running on a 'Cape Exit' platform so as to free us from the tyranny of Gauteng @6000 https://t.co/AVlvX5MSH3
— Jacques Rousseau (@JacquesR) July 7, 2016
“It is our contention that the ruling party, politically and economically, discriminates against the majority of the Cape people,” he said, referring to the Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape. –Â News24