The Pan African Congress (PAC) in Gauteng has criticised the African National Congress (ANC) government for failing to deliver on land appropriation and service promises, calling it an insult to Sharpeville massacre victims. The party held a commemoration event at Dlomo Dam in Sharpeville.
Hundreds of PAC members gathered at Dlomo Dam in Sharpeville, south of Gauteng, for a commemoration of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre. The event paid tribute to the 69 people killed by apartheid police during a peaceful protest against pass laws. PAC Gauteng Organizer Jimmy Khoza emphasised the significance of the day, stating: “We are here to commemorate our fallen heroes and stalwarts. Remember this day for us is not a human rights day as the majority call it. It is what we call the commemoration of our fallen heroes. Because without their blood we wouldn’t have attained the so called freedom that what we claim here in occupied azania so we are here to commemorate them and remember them and their families.” PAC member Mule Malibhutu criticised the current government, saying: “The government of the day is an illegitimate type of government. It was never founded on the principles of African nationalism, it was never based on the African people getting their land back. So presently what we are seeing is nothing else but, it basically is the same thing. Things are worse because the land is not yet in the rightful hands or into the hands of it’s rightful people which are the african people.” The PAC views the ANC's unfulfilled promises on land and services as undermining the sacrifices made during the struggle against apartheid.