Members of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) picketed along Keizersgracht Street near the City Hall in Cape Town’s city centre ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday evening.
The demonstrators were clad in red and held up posters calling for the implementation of a R1,500 Basic Income Grant , more job opportunities for unemployed people, the fixing of the railway system and punishment for corruption in the private and public sector, among other things.
He also criticised the government’s the amount of the special Covid-19 Social Relief Distress Grant which was introduced at the start of the pandemic to assist unemployed people. “R350 is about R11.50 per day that cannot even get you a loaf of bread,” he said. Brown said the government is “hell-bent” on further privatising the energy and transport sectors in addition to budget cuts which have resulted in an “economy which increasingly favours the interests of the rich, big corporations”.
During his speech, Ramaphosa said that government, labour, business and communities have set aside 100 days to finalise a comprehensive social compact to grow the economy, create jobs and combat hunger.
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