Little burn victims picket Sars
FERNDALE – Children of Fire tired of queuing for a tax clearance certificate, which they need to hire an occupational therapist.
FERNDALE – Burn victims, one of them hardly even a year old, marched with their teachers and guardians into the Sars offices in Ferndale on 23 July in an attempt to finally sort out the tax clearance certificate their facility desperately needs to hire an occupational therapist.
The children are from Children of Fire based in Auckland Park, and they sat peacefully singing for others waiting in line, even handing books to bored people to cheer them up, and showing people their colourful ‘protest’ posters they had made.
Children of Fire is a special needs facility which helps young burn victims whose parents have no means of affording the special care their children need. Some of these children were burned in electrical fires, chemicals, or hot liquids, but one thing cannot be disputed – regardless of their scars, they are the most beautiful children one could ever look upon.
Founder of the charity Bronwen Jones and her bookkeeper Nomalungelo Gwabeni have been trying to sort out the tax clearance certificate with Sars officials for almost five months, but feel that revenue service has just been shunning them from pillar to post.
Gwabeni took half a day’s leave from her permanent job and did not get to the front of the queue. She then took a full day’s leave and still got no satisfaction. “The employees were obtuse and unhelpful,” Gwabeni said.
Even when she took a full Power of Attorney from the charity director, the officials would not listen.
“So why do you think we are cross?” asked Jones. “Because the cost to the charity, is that the offer from a large private health company to fund an occupational therapist’s salary for a year, is now likely to be withdrawn, because Sars won’t assist with essential documentation.”
“If Sars do not want to deal with our bookkeeper, then the children will queue at Sars instead, hopefully that will make them pay attention,” lamented Jones.
After the children made their appeal, Sars officials assured Jones that they are seeing to the matter immediately and will liaise with her to get to matter resolved as soon as possible.
Details: Children of Fire www.childrenoffire.org
Also, watch the video of them protesting peacefully here:
