DA Eastern Cape march over living costs
Government needs to cut taxes and levies to ease the cost of living crisis, the DA said on Wednesday.
The party's in the Eastern Cape led a march against the skyrocketing fuel and food prices.
It said the Eastern Cape is one of the most poverty-stricken provinces and the hardest hit by the devastating cost-of-living crisis.
The DA said some parents who are desperate to save their children from a slow, painful death by starvation are resorting to extreme measures.
Two weeks ago, a mother in that province recently killed her three children before taking her own life, an action allegedly triggered by poverty.
Provincial leader Andrew Whitfield says they delivered a memorandum to the office of the Eastern Cape MEC for Social Development, Bukiwe Fanta.
Whitfield said the party will also deliver a copy of the memorandum to the Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu.
"The DA now requests that the MEC engage with her cabinet colleagues at a provincial and national level to finally implement solutions to this crisis that is slowly killing our fellow citizens. The DA has proposed several interventions that can, if implemented, save our fellow citizens from further suffering.
“These include cutting taxes and levies on fuel to reduce the cost of transporting food and scrapping VAT on the food items most purchased by the poorest households by reviewing and expanding the zero-rated food basket. Review and reduce import tariffs on foods consumed by low-income households.
“Provide private titles to all land reform beneficiaries to increase food supply and security while reducing prices. Increase the child support grant, raising it from R500 to the same level as the official food poverty line.”
