South Africans Hits The Street, Protest Inflation, Unemployment, And Strikes, Demands Government Immediate Action

In support of the nationwide strike called by the largest unions in the nation over rising inflation and frequent power outages, protesters marched to one of South Africa’s key government buildings in Pretoria on Wednesday.

As they made their way to the Union Buildings, where the presidency is housed, hundreds of protesters stopped highways in the nation’s capital and demanded that the government address rising living expenses to prevent “economic collapse.”

Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions, addressed the throng, “We cannot breathe.

When at least 14 million people are compelled to forego a meal every day because they can’t afford to buy a plate of food, as is the case both yesterday and today, “we cannot compromise.”
However, demonstrations in other regions of the nation were much smaller, and union requests for a “national shutdown” went largely unanswered.

High rates of unemployment and inflation, as well as bouts of blackouts brought on by malfunctions and capacity shortages at state energy provider Eskom, have hammered South Africa.

According to Mike Shingange, deputy director of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, “it is a societal struggle.”
Our future and the future of our young people are doomed if we don’t take action. Now is the time to fight.

Unions say that the government prioritizes elite and corporate profits over the needs of the average South African.
When meeting with the demonstrators, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele stated that the problems they mentioned needed to be resolved right away.

We concur with you that the government will be meaningless if inequality is not addressed, Gungubele remarked.

The national statistics agency, StatsSA, announced on Wednesday that the inflation rate in July had increased to 7.8%, the highest level in 13 years.

According to the organization, average price increases for food and non-alcoholic beverages were 9.7%, while increases in power rates were 7.5%.

Meanwhile, there has been a sharp increase in fuel costs of 56.2% since last year.
More over 33% of people were unemployed, with women and young people suffering the most.

The unions’ demands include higher minimum wages, more funding for public institutions including hospitals and schools, and improved public transportation.