There was a poor turnout on Saturday in Cosatu's national protest against food prices and the situation in Zimbabwe.

About 200 had joined the Congress of SA Trade unions and other left wing organisations at the Library Gardens in the Johannesburg CBD.

In the Western Cape, only about 100 picketed at the gates of Parliament.

Speaking to Sapa, Cosatu Western Cape Provincial Secretary Tony Ehrenreich said: "We expected a bigger turnout given the centrality of the issues."

Cosatu had commitments from the African National Congress, the SA Communist Party, (SACP) the Treatment Action Campaign and other organisations, who were represented at the picket.

"But clearly we haven't been able to bring the masses of the people along with us," he said.

In Johannesburg, protesters held Cosatu banners saying "Africans United" and sang struggle songs and listened to speeches.

SA National Civics Organisation (Sanco) President Mlungisi Hlongwane said: "The issue of xenophobia should end and it should end now."

He called for "man-made boundaries" of countries to be "demolished" to ensure all Africans free movement through the countries.

"Let us unite"

"Let us unite," he said.

"African people should understand that we are all brothers and sisters."

Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) handed out pamphlets saying a divided working class would win nothing but more exploitation and oppression.

Referring to the "crisis" of housing in South Africa, ZACF said: "A battle between South Africans and immigrants over who gets the houses will only prolong the crisis."

The organisation Keep Left blamed the government for underdevelopment saying it had been slow to meet its promises.

"If government had kept their promises to deliver houses and jobs, then no one would be fighting over this."

The organisations Spartacist, a section of the international communist league, expressed a different opinion on South Africa's underdevelopment issues.

While most organisations present supported Cosatu, Spartacist characterised the union federation as "pro-capitalist misleaders" and the ANC as "bourgeoisie".

"It is the ANC, SACP, Cosatu Tripartite Alliance government that oversees neo-apartheid capitalism under which the overwhelming majority are locked in grinding poverty and black people remain at the bottom," it said in a pamphlet.

Spartacist said ANC President Jacob Zuma had cloaked the crack down on immigrants with "empty words of sympathy", while police were regularly showing xenophobia themselves, encouraging mob attacks such as those in Alexandra this past week.

The group marched to the Home Affairs office to hand over another memorandum supporting freedom and democracy in Zimbabwe.

Sapa