“The protests we have witnessed in Alexandra, Soweto and Cape Town are just a foretaste of what’s to come as people get more desperate and have no way to feed themselves and their families,” says Moloto.
The measures announced by the government are nowhere near sufficient to support all citizens of the country. Many other countries have announced a form of minimum universal credit to families.
What’s particularly shocking, says Moloto, is reports coming in of lawyers for the banks and other creditors issuing summonses against individuals just before and even during the lockdown.
“The response from the banks has been appalling. They are burying their heads in the sand by expecting people to continue paying their debts at the expense of feeding their families. This is barbaric and inhumane and we must not forget who they are. They should be in jail. These are the remnants of a dying capitalist class trying to hang on to their privileges.”
Moloto says the government needs to invoke emergency powers to bring calm to the current panic in the country. It must immediately:
– Introduce a basic minimum grant of R6,000 per household per month immediately to cover basic needs
– Announce a massive infrastructure programme to kick off immediately after the lockdown is lifted to create millions of new jobs
– Mandate a freeze on any form of debt collection for a period of six months
– Impose a freeze on rent and mortgage payment obligations for six months
– Criminally prosecute anyone (including lawyers) attempting to legally enforce payment of debts until further notice.
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“This is not business as usual. The country faces an existential crisis and we find ourselves in the midst of a crisis not of our own making. We are going through a period of great anxiety and millions are hungry and desperate. The government has neglected the basic needs of millions of South Africans with no safety net, but instead brings out the police and army to club them off the streets.
“My great worry is that South Africa is becoming a one-party state serving the interests of big business and the oligarchs. The R3 billion provided by the Oppenheimers, the Ruperts and the Motsepes, while welcome, is a drop in the ocean compared to what’s needed. Unless the government acts quickly to reassure the people that it represents their interests, there will be mass protests and social disorder.”
Contact: PAC President
Narius Moloto
082 924 5945
Deputy Secretary General
Kodisang Bokaba
082 958 6608
PAC SPOKESPERSON
Kenny Bafo
083 240 3844
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