Johannesburg - TransformSA and its civil society partners have taken to the streets to voice their anger against what they have described as "racist banks“ in the country.
On Thursday, the organisation gathered at Innesfree Park in Sandton before marching to the banks in the CBD where they intended to hand over a memorandum to complain about banks targeting black-owned businesses.
Protesters were expected to leave Innesfree Park by noon and begin marching down Katherine Street and then Friedman Drive.
Transform SA president Adil Nchabeleng said the members wanted to put an end to the corruption in the banks.
“Black people have had enough; you are not going to target us anymore. Banks are quick to liquidate or repossess property belonging to black people.”
Video: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency (ANA)
Nchabeleng said the latest example of some banks targeting black-owned companies could be seen in the threat to close the bank account of AYO Technologies in the coming week.
“Look at Independent Media whose existence is on a virtue of collapse, on the bases that banks are working hard day and night to stop their banking accounts which means the workers are not going to be paid. People’s lives will be affected, jobs and lives are going to be lost, people will suffer,” said Nchabeleng.
“AYO Technology and Sekunjalo has already been victims of all forms of racism of banks who have unleashed machinery to collapse the existence of these businesses. There is no findings on AYO Technology and Sekunjalo. They are being targeted because it’s black owned. All other white companies have never been taken to task.”
He said the protests aimed to demonstrate that black people had had enough.
People attending the march were given black masks as part of observing Covid-19 regulations and as a sign that they were tired of being silenced.
Umkhonto We Sizwe Military Veterans Association spokesperson Carl Niehaus, who is also attending the march, said he was taking part because some banks in the country were allegedly racist and had exploited black people.
“We continue to see how these banks continue to racially profile black clients. Many of them lose their houses and cats and other properties, and black entrepreneurs are not funded because of racial profiling. Banks have to be fundamentally transformed,” Niehaus said.
“It is also one of the resolutions that the ANC took on its 54th NEC in 2017 that financial institutions and banks have to be transformed in order to address affordable capital to our people.”
ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za
Political Bureau