The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the North West is leading a picket today at the provincial legislature, against austerity measures. This protest comes ahead of the provincial government’s budget speech.

The union is urging the government to address issues relating to service delivery and the high unemployment rate in the province.

COSATU National spokesperson Zanele Sabela says, “We all know of the problems that are in the North West. Infrastructure there is falling apart, the roads are in a terrible state, the schools themselves are falling apart. And you have situations where a particular municipality like Madibeng will be sending back the budget at the end of the year when quite frankly, there’s so many problems and they are just actually not being addressed. And so, it’s those issues and in that province particularly, unemployment is so high. …unemployment there is like sitting at 52.8 percent. And so, it’s all about how the budget is being used.”

Media Alert: #COSATU North West scheduled to lead a provincial picket against austerity measures at North West Legislature tomorrow at 08h00 @NorthWestFMNews @NorthWestFMMelb @motswedingfm @ewnupdates @pretorianews @SABCNews_Radio @SABCNews @POWER987News @SABCNews_TV @IOL @eNCA pic.twitter.com/9t4WjoigqL

— @COSATU Today (@_cosatu) March 18, 2025

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