Cape Town - Racist behaviour in the Western Cape is the latest grievance trade union federation Cosatu has appealed that the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) investigate.
The provincial branch handed over a memorandum to the organisation on Human Rights Day yesterday to investigate what it called the “racist behaviour currently experienced in the Western Cape”.
The federation’s provincial chairperson, Motlatsi Tsubane, said they had asked the SAHRC to “urgently intervene” in the manner that government resources were being allocated.
Tsubane said Cosatu urged authorities to be consistently fair in the distribution of resources, so as to not infringe on the rights of citizens.
He had singled out the allocation of resources to schools in poorer areas compared with those in more affluent neighbourhoods, as well as the “transport challenges” faced by residents in some areas.
The memorandum handover took place at Muizenberg beach yesterday.
Elsewhere in the city, dozens of people gathered at the Castle of Good Hope for the Cape Town Festival to celebrate Human Rights Day.
The festival, which is part of the One City, Many Cultures project, is an annual event which seeks to promote a greater understanding of the different cultures in the province.
Some who attended the event reflected on what exactly Human Rights Day meant to them.
Yasmeen Solomons, 49, said Human Rights Day meant recognising integration and acceptance since apartheid.
“We are from District Six. We can go to any area we would like to go now.
“We can live anywhere and we can communicate with all races.”
Steven Paulson, 63, from Uitsig in Ravensmead, said he hoped the future would be brighter for his grandchildren.
“My hope for the future is that we will work hard on our human rights as South Africans.”
Annameka Carter, 43, came from Kensington with her family to celebrate Human Rights Day at the Castle of Good Hope.
“It’s basically emancipation for all of humankind,” she said. “Just to think of the injustices that have been done, and are still done today.”