Johannesburg – SACP general secretary, Solly Mapaila, speaking to SABC News, said that the reason for the protest was to ask the government to look into, among other things, load shedding, poverty, and the high cost of living in South African communities.
He said that in the midst of a crisis in the country, corporate South Africa continued to make profits.
"Therefore, the public economy and public interventions become more urgent for the government of the day to appreciate that," added Mapalia.
Mapaila also said that critical voices that are allied with the governing party, like the SACP, have been ignored.
"That is why we have reconnected with the mass base to raise issues for ourselves to fight our own struggles and in our communities to exude areas where we can implement self-reliant methods, and we have begun to do that," said Mapaila.
Other groups who were picketing with the SACP, according to the “Cape Argus”, included its partners, the Community Works Programme (CWP), which was established by the government to provide a job safety net for unemployed people of working age, the Electricity Crisis Movement (ECM), and Operation Dudula in Cape Town.
According to the “Cape Argus”, Cosatu also expressed its support, with its regional spokesperson, Malvern de Bruyn, saying that they were disappointed in the government's failure to address their concerns over the years.
"Today we give the president another chance to tell us what he will do to look after the interests of the working class – crime, lack of electricity, unemployment, and more," he reportedly said.
People Against Gangsterism and Drugs founder Abdus-Salam Ebrahim, speaking to Salaa media, said the organisation has listened to plenty of presidents in South Africa but mentions that Cyril Ramaphosa's "new dawn" never happened.
"In actual fact, the new dawn was a total crisis that has happened; it's a disaster. If you look at Eskom, if you look at SAA, if you look at drugs and gangsterism, if you look at our crime rate, if you look at Phala Phala, the president is walking free, there is no accountability," he said.
The Star