DA: Govt needs to cut taxes, levies to ease cost of living crisis

The march took place on Wednesday at Butterworth in the Eastern Cape.

Provincial leader Andrew Whitfield says they delivered a memorandum to the office of the Eastern Cape MEC for Social Development, Bukiwe Fanta.

"The Eastern Cape is one of the most poverty-stricken provinces in South Africa and the hardest hit by the devastating cost-of-living crisis crippling the country. 

“The desperation of parents to save their children from a slow, painful death by starvation due to extreme poverty has recently led to mothers allegedly killing their children before committing suicide.

“In August of this year, tragedy struck the Tholeni Administrative area in Butterworth, where a mother allegedly poisoned her three young children before taking her own life.

“Last month, a young mother from Port St. Johns allegedly killed three of her children by poisoning, after which she committed suicide. These desperate acts were all apparently motivated by extreme poverty," said Whitfield.

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.”

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