March and March to meet AfriForum to ‘learn’ advocacy strategies

March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma said the movement will meet with civil rights group AfriForum on Tuesday to learn about the organisation’s advocacy strategies, while stressing the meeting does not mean the two groups agree on all issues.

Announcement made during Durban demonstration

Ngobese-Zuma announced the planned meeting on Monday during a March and March demonstration in Durban. The group marched near the venue of the 46th SADC Summit in a protest directed at Southern African Development Community leaders over citizens of their countries living in South Africa without proper documentation.

Learning, not alignment, she says

Ngobese-Zuma said the movement wanted to learn from AfriForum and that working with other South Africans did not mean the movement was opposed to anyone “because of their race.”

“We’re working with anyone who’s a South African. We work with them. AfriForum is South African. We’re not against anyone because of their race,”

She added the visit to AfriForum was to “learn from them” and to adopt “the right things that they are doing.”

“It doesn’t mean that we’re saying now we’re going to be worshipping AfriForum. That’s not what we’re saying. We also told them that we disagree. But here we want to learn about the things that you are doing correctly for the people who are in your forum.”

Focus remains on undocumented migrants

Ngobese-Zuma reiterated that the movement’s focus remained on undocumented people living in South Africa. The March and March group has been calling for stricter visa controls, a review of asylum policies, action against employers who hire undocumented workers, and restrictions on access to public services for undocumented migrants.

Plans for legal and humanitarian bodies

The leader said the movement recently announced the establishment of the SA First Forum, described as a social justice litigation body, and the March and March Foundation, a humanitarian non-profit organisation.

Ngobese-Zuma said the SA First Forum would seek to learn from AfriForum’s approach to funding and building institutions, including how to finance and build things like universities.

“So it’s really a learning opportunity for us,”

She said the forum would provide legal assistance to South Africans who could not afford to enforce their rights and would, “when necessary, lead legal action against those who exploit and disadvantage vulnerable people.”

Ngobese-Zuma said the first case to be handled by the forum would relate to a South African Police Service circular that the movement believes is unconstitutional.

Previous reporting

According to IOL, Ngobese-Zuma had said the movement wanted to establish itself as “an AfriForum for black South Africans” through the new legal advocacy forum and humanitarian foundation.