Tensions rise in KZN ahead of planned Friday marches and counter-marches

There are fears that differences between the ANC and DA could be settled on the streets of Durban on Friday as the two organisations hold simultaneous marches in the city centre.

A string of counter marches by the ANC‚ the ANC Youth League and organisations sympathetic to the ruling party are planned for Durban and KwaZulu-Natal to thwart Black Friday protesters.

• Marching in the national shutdown? Get OK firstIf you intend marching in the national shutdown planned for tomorrow, aimed at pressuring President Jacob Zuma to quit, get clearance from your boss. 

KwaZulu-Natal ANCYL spokesman Mandla Shange said‚ “We heard there are whites marching somewhere in the beachfront. We will be joining them. [The] problem is that our items are not the same. We just hope we do not outnumber them”.

The Youth League marchers will gather at 8am at the Durban Christian Centre.

While eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede has already threatened to arrest “illegal” protestors citing “treason”‚ it has not dampened the spirit of those who have planned to march.

• Durban will be on ‘high alert’ as DA and ANCYL march through the cityIn an apparent backtrack‚ Durban mayor Zandile Gumede has said that “no one will be arrested or intimidated” for taking part in planned marches in the city on Friday – provided that protesters have permission. 

The DA-organised March for Change in Durban will commence from the Old Circus Site on Sandile Thusi Road (formerly Argyle Road) to The Amphitheatre on the beachfront at 9am‚ while the Scottburgh march organised by member of the public will start from the Riverside entrance to the south coast town at 10.30am.

Another civic/DA-organised march is planned for Howick Falls in the KZN Midlands and the gathering will be from 9am to 10am.

The ANC in the in the greater KwaDukuza Region will be holding a mass march against “white-monopoly capital forces which are seeking to use the working class as a vehicle for deception in attacking the ANC through their campaign to shut down South Africa on Friday”.

• Durban mayor says anti-Zuma march is treasonMarching against President Jacob Zuma would be tantamount to treason‚ eTthekwini mayor Zandile Gumede said on Thursday. 

The region is urging the public to refrain from participating in the shut down South Africa or Black Friday campaign which they say is organised by the opposition parties and other "counter-revolutionary forces".

“We believe that the strategy to shut-down South Africa won’t solve anything but it’s a drive to exploit poor and needy citizens who make up the majority of the population‚” said spokesman Lucky Makhathini.

Progressive Youth in Business (PYB) national chairperson Malusi Zondo advised their members not to participate in the planned march on Friday saying the march was not a PYB priority.

• Government's stance against civil disobedience 'disingenuous': Save SASave South Africa‚ a coalition of civil society against President Jacob Zuma‚ has slammed ANC government's stance against the planned civil obedience on Friday as "disingenuous". 

“Our key focus is to ensure that the youth of this country participate broadly in the mainstream economy of South Africa and not to protest against a democratically elected head of state”.

- TMG Digital/The Times