South African secessionist lobby organization opts for Federalism

The Cape Independence Advocacy Group, a secessionist lobby organization based in the Western Cape province in South Africa has said for now it will take the idea of Federalism than a complete secession of the province.

The remarks by CIAG follow a recent pronouncement of the Western Cape Peoples Bill, which is currently before the Western Cape provincial legislature. The Bill is aimed at ensuring that the Western Cape province becomes a Federal State, something which the CIAG has been advocating for.

According to CIAG, although it’s not entirely what they want (they want the Western Cape to be it’s own country) it’s a commendable move.

In addition, CIAG said since 2019, the ANC national government has been purposefully denying the Western Cape people their clearly expressed democratic will.

According to CIAG, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, campaigned on the promise of fighting for the devolution of policing and rail and was elected with an outright majority noting that polling confirmed that 76% of Western Cape voters supported increased autonomy for the Western Cape.

Furthermore, CIAG noted that the Bill affirms the existing Constitutional reality that the people of the Western Cape are distinct from the South African people as a whole even though they may elect to form a part of the South African people citing that as a distinct people, they are entitled to exercise self-determination, a right which the Bill formally claims and which the South African Government has repeatedly sworn to uphold.

In addition, CIAG said secession is the final act and the groundwork leading up to that act is gradual but incremental citing that they will be using political leverage ahead of the 2024 elections to force a referendum on Cape Independence

“The Western Cape must be governed in accordance with the will of the people who actually live there. This Bill opens the door to a brighter future for the Western Cape people who can now finally escape from under the yoke of a national Government which the majority of them have never once voted for,” said CIAG spokesperson Phil Craig.