Ethekwini deputy mayor Fawzia Peer said the fight against poverty was of paramount importance‚ during a Human Rights Day address in Phoenix on Tuesday.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal hosted a walk from Gandhi Settlement in Inanda to the Ferndale grounds in Phoenix‚ aimed at promoting unity on Human Rights Day between the neighbouring communities.
Ahead of the address by Peer‚ hundreds of people squeezed into a tent erected on a soccer pitch in Ferndale.
"This is an important event in our calendar. Our history is written in blood and set in stone‚" she said.
Peer added that while struggle stalwarts had steered South Africa to political freedom‚ the baton should be taken up by the youth.
"While democracy has been established‚ we should never forget those who fought for freedom.
"We cannot live by their legacy alone. We need current day activists to pick up the baton. We need to nurture a culture of activism. Economic emancipation is still a battle‚" she said.
Peer said that radical economic transformation was needed to reverse the social ills of the past.
"Children go to bed hungry and people remain in the economic trenches and we need radical transformation.
"We know white households earn more than blacks and many do not own land in the country of their birth ... they cannot break the cycle of poverty."
She said that poverty affected all races and that the myth that "all Indians are rich" should be debunked.
TMG Digital/TimesLIVE
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