The Patriotic Alliance (PA) continued its controversial position on "illegal foreigners", with the party's leader, Gayton McKenzie, promising they would be deported if the party was elected to govern.
This was one of several promises made by McKenzie at the party's manifesto launch, held in Eldorado Park, Gauteng, on Saturday.
The event was held on a large field in the suburb, with hundreds of residents, wearing the party's bright green T-shirts, braving the heat to hear McKenzie speak.
McKenzie was cheered during his speech even as he promised to target "illegal foreigners".
The party has a controversial stance on undocumented immigrants, with McKenzie often labelled as xenophobic.
Denying that he was xenophobic, McKenzie claimed his stance was patriotic.
McKenzie accused undocumented migrants of owning RDP houses, while the government was doing nothing about it.
He provided no evidence to back up his claims.
The controversial author and businessman also took a swipe at ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, who has similar views to McKenzie on undocumented immigrants.
McKenzie said, while Mashaba had been in office, building hijackings had ballooned.
McKenzie said:
People say we and Herman Mashaba are talking the same language, I say we are not. Herman Mashaba was the mayor of Joburg for three years, yet more foreigners came and took more buildings - and why does he want to remove them when he had three years?The promise to deal with crime.
McKenzie said crime and poverty were interlinked.
He said the PA would focus on dealing with unemployment, through job creation, to address crime.
"Crime, when we talk about crime, we must be honest. Poverty and crime are twin brothers. Our children are selling drugs because they have no jobs. We, as the PA, are saying we are going to create jobs in order to fight crime. We are going to give people a chance to redeem themselves," he said.
Services, rates and taxes
McKenzie promised supporters the party would ensure that municipal apartments were not paid for by residents.
He said families had been paying rent for years to occupy government-owned flats, but it would end when the PA governs.
The PA also promised to clear the debt owed by residents for water, electricity and taxes.
"What type of flats are these that you cannot stop paying? Every flat that owes your debt is finishing on 1 November. You are getting your title deed. Our parents have paid for these houses, and they are still paying," McKenzie said to loud cheers from the crowd.
PAHundreds of Eldorado Park residents came out in support of the Patriotic Alliance manifesto launch on Saturday.News24 Zintle Mahlati"When we takeover, I do not care how much the people owe... if they owe R80 000 or R80, when the PA takes over, the water, the rates and the taxes owed to the city, we are all starting over at zero. We are going to give our people a break," he said.
The PA was founded in 2013.
In 2016, it managed to secure 0.6% of the national vote in the municipal elections.
The party currently has five councillors across the country.
It will be competing in various municipalities in Cape Town, Joburg, Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay.
McKenzie insisted during his address that the PA was not a "coloured party".
However, its dominance has been in traditionally coloured suburbs.
In May, the party was able to clinch two wards from the DA in by-elections held in Eldorado Park.
