There must be an inquiry into the arms deal and the provision of safety and security for all in South Africa, says the Social Justice Coalition (SJC).

The coalition has organised a rally which will take place tomorrow at 6pm at St George's Cathedral, Cape Town. The SJC was formed in the wake of the xenophobic violence in the Western Cape in May, and includes activists, leaders, scholars and community members.

The call for an inquiry came two days after five SJC members and more than 90 other members of the Khayelitsha communities lost their homes in a fire on Saturday.

The absence of safe lighted streets, proper housing plots and sanitation, coupled with overworked police and under-resourced firefighters made Khayeslitsha and many other areas unsafe, claimed the SJC, and said that the money spent on the arms deal would have been better used on poverty relief and upliftment.

"We call on President (Kgalema) Motlanthe to immediately establish an independent judicial commission of inquiry into the arms deal," Zackie Achmat, SJP member and prominent Treatment Action Campaign activist said yesterday.

Sid Lockett, SJP member said: "The arms deal is the very pinnacle of corruption that is endemic in the government."

Achmat asked: "Why did our leaders spend over R50-billion on arms deals to buy weapons when the real threat is poverty and inequality?"

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With acknowledgements to Jessica Bell and Cape Times.