More than 1 000 people from rural communities all over the Western Cape marched on Parliament on Tuesday to highlight the lack of land reform in the region.
The protesters who hailed from the West Coast, the Karoo and the southern Cape refused to leave the precinct of Parliament until either Finance Minister Trevor Manuel or Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza accepted their memorandum.
A speaker told the crowd: ”We will not leave here until one of the ministers accepts our memorandum. We do not want just any official. We have all the time in the world.”
Shouts of ”no land, no vote” reverberated around the Tuynhuys entrance to Parliament, followed by chants of ”down with Trevor down, down with Thoko down”.
The protesters were organised under the banners of various groups including the Surplus People Project, the Trust for Community Outreach, the Southern Cape Land Committee and the Western Cape Ubuntu Farmers’ Union. – Sapa