Municipality sinking township car washes

THE South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Western Cape condemns the harassment of local township car wash owners by officials of the City of Cape Town Municipality in the strongest terms possible.

The SACP stands on the side of the workers and the poor.

The SACP Provincial Working Committee meeting held on Monday, March 12 noted with dismay the collusion of the City of Cape Town with big businesses, to suffocate township economy by exempting water intensive industries from any responsibility in the water crisis.

The SACP will mobilise and organise all car wash owners against this act of profiteering out of the water crisis.

While we reiterate calls to save water collectively, we condemn the confiscation of working material of the car wash owners and the issuing of exorbitant fines by the City of Cape Town Municipality. Such acts are a direct onslaught on the working class.

The township car washes are an alternative employment for our young people and feed families; their closure affects not only their owners, but their families and those of the people they employ.

The SACP in the Western Cape demands the return of the equipment and the provision of Eco car washes for the township car wash owners as a measure to save water and supporting local businesses. Zuko Mndayi SACP Western Cape spokesperson