The ANC in the Western Cape has taken a jab at the DA for holding a political rally in Bonteheuwel.

The DA and leader Mmusi Maimane held a 2019 general elections registration rally in Bonteheuwel, Cape Town on Saturday. He was joined by Western Cape premier candidate Alan Winde and other party leaders.

Maimane told supporters that other parties would seek to divide voters come elections, while also hailing the DA's performance in the Western Cape after inheriting a "dysfunctional" province from the ANC in 2009.

ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs on Saturday hit back, saying it was "political hypocrisy" for the DA to choose the area as a venue for its Western Cape voter registration rally.

"They have no struggle history," said Jacobs of the DA in a statement.

Jacobs said the township had a proud history of resistance and fighting for liberation.

"It is the home of activists, such as Umkhonto we Sizwe soldier Ashley Kriel, who was killed by South African police."

'People know DA's policies'

The DA criticised the ANC, saying it had to restore a damaged Western Cape province after inheriting its problems from the ruling party.

Maimane said the national government had taken its lead from the DA-led province in terms of safety with gangs.

Jacobs countered, saying Maimane made big promises during his rally on Saturday while ignoring housing shortages, poor policing and neglect of townships.

"Maimane is a Paper Mache politician, the leader of a party that does not want blacks on formerly whites-only beaches such as Clifton's 4th Beach," he claimed, citing an incident at the famous beach two weeks ago where visitors were asked to leave after sunset by a private security firm.

The City of Cape Town had said at the time it was not responsible for the actions of the private security firm.

Jacobs added: "This party uses sophisticated spin doctoring to cover its failure to deliver to the Western Cape."

He said people on the ground understood the work being done in the province.

"The DA can continue to paint a rosy picture of its successes. But the people on the receiving end of its policies know better."

'Don't be fooled'

Earlier at the rally, Maimane said that other political parties would try to steer the conversation away from facts.

"Those without a plan and a credible track record will try to turn regular South Africans into enemies of each other. They will try to find scapegoats for their failures. They will use inflammatory and divisive language, creating a false 'us' and 'them'."

He called on South Africans not to be "fooled by such talk".

"When it comes to choosing a government, there is only one question that matters: Will it improve the lives of ordinary South Africans, and particularly the poor and the vulnerable? Everything else is just noise and distraction."

Maimane said the Western Cape government was evidence of the work the opposition party had done, and would focus their pitch on the economy, jobs and safer communities.

He touted Winde as a humble man whose primary goal was service delivery, and claimed that more than half the jobs created in SA in 2019 came from the province under Winde as MEC for Economic Opportunities.