About 400 people gathered outside the Gauteng legislature on Monday where they formed a human chain around the building to mark International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Representing a variety of NGOs, such as the Treatment Action Campaign, the South African Non-Governmental Organisations Coalition (Sangoco), Ikageng and Network against Child Labour, the demonstrators called for a basic income grant for all.
”We held our hands in a symbolic mark that shows that when we tie our hands together, we make work light,” said Hassim Lorgat, Sangoco’s spokesperson.
Sheilagh-Mary Waspe, of Justice and Peace, said her organisation is also calling on the government to extend the child-support grant to children up to the age of 18, from the current 14, as a step towards the establishment of a comprehensive social-security system in South Africa.
”We are not calling for hand-outs. We are calling for the extension of the basic income grant for all so that people’s dignity can be restored and that they can be able to pay for services,” she said. — Sapa