Cape Town - The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) joined by a number of unions, civil society organisations and members of the community marched to Parliament, calling for a budget that meets the needs of the people during an anti-austerity march ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2024 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement address, yesterday.
Parent, Jolandi van Wyk, representing the Witzenberg Justice Coalition, said: “I came with my heart; I need to be heard.”
She said their pleas were directed to the Ministers of Education and Human Settlements.
“We want them to prioritise the building of houses because it’s a big need and we want the Minister of Education to reconsider the budget cuts because we in Ceres, in the Witzenberg, are struggling currently with food and transport for our children.
“Witzenberg is dependent on seasons when the fruit is right and the season is not active at the moment so a lot of people, a lot of parents are jobless.”
Housing Assembly chairperson, Kashiefa Achmat, said there were 600 000 people on the housing waiting list in the Western Cape.
Achmat said they were currently busy with their Waiting List campaign and a litigation, which will be done by the Legal Resources Centre on their behalf.
Achmat said people have been waiting for homes since 1993.
Salaama Topass from Blikkiesdorp and member of the Housing Assembly raised the issue of housing, particularly for backyard dwellers.
“Why must backyard dwellers wait so long, and why must people be on the waiting list for 20 years and so on,” Topass said.
Equal Education community leader, Makanatsa Ziyambi, said: “Our message for the Finance Minister is that they need to prioritise education, especially the education of learners from marginalised communities as the odds are already against them because of the socio-economic factors that already exist and education seems to be one thing that can work for them in order for them to emancipate themselves from these socio-economic issues that they face.”
Amanda Fani from Cry of the Xcluded and the Back to Work campaign said EPWP workers did the same amount of work as permanent workers, however, there was a massive salary discrepancy.
Member of the Gugulethu Health Committee and Health Forum, Joyce Malebo, said: “We are not happy with the budget cuts of the clinic because health is very important, that is the number one issue. How come they will cut the budget for health and when people are sick, there are no beds.”
Cosatu general-secretary, Solly Phetoe, said they will be requesting a response after 14 days of having received their memorandum of demands.
Cape Argus