Members of the South African Communist Party (SACP) marched to banks and businesses in Randfontein on Saturday to demand a one-off credit amnesty for all blacklisted South Africans.
Spokesperson Nkosiphendule Kolisile said hundreds of the party’s members and the West Rand community sang struggle songs as they marched to demand that businesses stop ”reckless lending to our community”.
The party handed over memorandums to managers of banks, furniture retailers and fashion shops in the area.
”We want these institutions to start discussing with their customers ways of dealing with debts, instead of rushing to faceless credit bureaux,” he said.
The SACP called on businesses to convene a summit where they would discuss alternative ways of dealing with debtors with the community.
Kolisile said it is unfair to repossess a person’s property as well as refer them for blacklisting, because that is ”double punishment”.
”South Africa has given amnesty to murderers and other serious criminals, and all we are demanding is for the poor people to be given an opportunity to start afresh and be able to live their lives,” said Kolisile.
He said businesses should not just respond by forwarding consumers’ names to credit bureaux whenever there is a problem.
”We should dig deeper and hear what the consumers’ problems are, because blacklisting does not benefit the businesses either.
”We put more emphasis on the proposition of the summit because we believe it will help them [businesses] to understand where we come from and how unbearable life is when blacklisted,” he said.
The party expects positive responses within three months. ”If they do not respond we will go back to the streets, until our call is heard,” said Kolisile.
The marchers dispersed peacefully from Village Square shopping centre in the afternoon. — Sapa