The FF Plus’s Western Cape People’s Bill, which calls for the recognition of the people of the Western Cape as a distinct people with the right to self-determination, is gaining momentum.
The Bill, which was submitted to the Western Cape government in June this year by the FF Plus’s Peter Marais, was just tabled in the province’s Standing Committee on the Premier and Constitutional Affairs.
The Committee recommended that a legal opinion on the Bill should be obtained.
This development is historically significant seeing as it is the very first time that self-determination is formally discussed on this level in the new dispensation.
Section 235 of South Africa’s Constitution makes provision for self-determination by “any community sharing a common cultural and language heritage, within a territorial entity in the Republic or in any other way, determined by national legislation.”
The FF Plus’s team which presented the briefing was Mr Peter Marais (MPL), the party’s Western Cape leader, Dr Corné Mulder, and adv Gert Van Niekerk (deputy leader: Western Cape). Mr Phil Craig of the Cape Independence Advocacy Group supports the initiative.
During the briefing, it was pointed out to the Committee that the Bill is also in line with the Western Cape’s Constitution.
The Western Cape is the only province which has its own Constitution that determines, among other things, that “all peoples have the right to self-determination, and to pursue economic and social development policies according to their own choice.”
It is abundantly clear that the people of the Western Cape are constitutionally entitled to the right to determine their own political status.
South Africa’s national government has on numerous occasions already recognised the concept of self-determination, as defined in the Bill of Rights of the United Nations (UN), including before the African Union (AU).
Self-determination for the Western Cape is a reality. The key to its success lies in a mandate by the people of the Western Cape by means of a provincial referendum, or at the polls in the upcoming 2024 general elections.
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