Cape Town and Pretoria are expected to come to a standstill on Wednesday as thousands of people march against corruption.
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Although the organisers had said they wanted upwards of 100,000 people to form part of the protest action, only an estimated 5,000 showed up for demonstrations in Cape Town and Pretoria. More marches are due next month.
Since the African National Congress (ANC) took over, corrupt officials are said to have stolen a staggering $50bn. “It is a non-political event that is for anyone who feels the way we do about corruption”.
“They’ve made things hard for us, but I don’t think they have done themselves any favours”, said David Lewis, executive director at the non-profit organisation Corruption Watch.
ORGANISERS of the Unite Against Corruption March on Wednesday gave the government a wish list of demands including that the state strengthen anticorruption institutions such as the Public Protector.
“The broad representation within the coalition signifies that South Africa has reached a tipping point where people are ready to overlook differences in order to protest against the damage that corruption has wrought on the country”.
The country, he said, was losing roughly 30 billion rand (roughly $2.6 billion) from its annual infrastructure budget due to rising levels of corruption.
Bantu Holomisa, member of parliament and the president of the United Democratic Movement.
That prompted a few to question whether the campaign had been politically hijacked. The marches were organised by several civil society organisations.
The march had a slow start as participants gathered slowly at the meeting spot in the Pretoria CBD, but soon gained momentum with scores more joining.
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If the campaign picks up momentum, Zuma risks losing more support from the tens ofmns of working-class black South Africans who have supported the ANC since the end of apartheid 21 years ago.
