Cape Town councillor Jack Miller's media release on DA speaker Felicity Purchase's ejecting him from council for using term "migrant":
Thank you to everyone for the support!
Yes, I am doing perfectly fine. And yes, it is true that I was thrown out of the Cape Town City Council earlier for using the word "migrant". On behalf of a local community in Cape Town I was giving a speech and raising an objection over some of the concerns that this community had.
They were worried that the project's objective to build low-cost housing would not go to local residents, but rather would be allocated to economic migrants coming in from the Eastern Cape. This is a concern we have heard on countless occasions in our community work across Cape Town over the last two decades.
I am not concerned that the EFF or the ANC took offense to the content of my speech. I am not there to keep them happy. I am there to share real life stories and issues from and for the people of the Cape. If they don't like it, fine. What is more concerning is that the DA-run Council sided with the ANC and EFF, and demanded me to apologise for using the word "migrant", because they thought it was offensive.
If we are now living in a world where the word "migrant" is offensive, and gets you thrown out of the very same political platform in which the public expects us to debate these matters, then democracy in the City of Cape Town is dead. The simplest google search for the definition of the word "migrant" will give you your answer. A person who travels from point A to point B, generally in search of work or economic opportunity.
This well known fact, that has been widely reported on in South African media, and across countless economic studies on migration statistics within South Africa, stating the obvious, that one of the largest migrant movements in South Africa over the last two decades has been from the Eastern Cape into Cape Town and the Western Cape.
The DA has even applauded this fact in the past, saying it is because they are doing such a good job. If we are now being told that we cannot use the word "migrant", and we are not even allowed to debate this migratory fact or else you get thrown out of the very hallways of government in which such things are supposed to be debated... Then lets drop the facade. Remove the mask. The DA is running cover to protect the ANC and EFF and prevent anyone who has an opposing opinion from expressing decent, or even debating alternative solutions that may put the Cape first.
FULL VIDEO
Councillor @JackMillerCPT forcibly removed from the chamber for referring to migrants from the Eastern Cape as "migrants".
Subsequently, DA Cllr McFarlane congratulated the speaker, after the speaker allowed other councillors to make derogatory accusations.
— Robert Duigan (@uMarhobane) May 28, 2025
I will be seeking clarity over this absurd issue from the DA and Mayors office, and will report back in due course. Once again, thank you for the phone calls and messages of support.
Sterkte #CapeIndependence
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