Johannesburg - The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) says it wants the government to implement the R1 500 universal income grant instead of the R350 social relief of distress grant which was last week extended to March 2024.
Satfu spokesperson, Trevor Shaku said it rejected the R350 grant as it was not enough for the millions of unemployed South Africans struggling to make ends meet due to the lack of jobs in the country.
Shaku said Saftu had made representations to Parliament on how best to implement this move in a way that does not affect provision of other services.
He said if the government was serious about protecting the poor from poverty, it would be possible to fund this grant through a wealth tax of the country’s super-rich individuals.
Shaku said there were many ways that government could be able to implement the R1 500 universal grant to ensure that poor South Africans are able to afford basic necessities as the data from the Household Affordability Index by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity group shows a continuation in food price hikes in July.
The average cost of its Household Food Basket climbed 1.3% – or R60.06 – to R4 748 in July. This means that, year-on-year, the average cost of the Household Food Basket increased by R611.44 (14.8%), from R4 137 in July 2021.
“We reject and we are not satisfied with the R350 social distress grant as it is not enough to feed the poor who are unable to afford even bread through this grant. If you look at the average price of bread which is about R16 00 and divide it by R350, you will realise just how bad the situation is. We are calling for the government to introduce wealth tax as one of the modalities to fund this grant at R1 500 which at least takes into consideration the average household food basket which starts at R700 to R 1000,” he said.
Shaku said the second method to fund this grant would be for the government to clean its act and stop corruption which was eating into the country’s fiscus and depriving the poor of essential services.
“We believe also that the government, if it were to rid itself of corruption, would be able to fund this grant. It is that simple, but this government is not serious in implementing these measures,” he said.
However, government said funding for the R350 would become an issue, with the National Treasury reporting that it would cost at least R50 billion a year to continue the temporary R350 monthly stipend that was initially launched in 2020 to protect the vulnerable from the effects of the pandemic.
Early this year, civil society groups including Black Sash, Amandla.Mobi launched a court bid over the unfair regulations that govern the social relief of distress (SRD) grant.
This bid was later abandoned following the announcement of the amended regulations by the department of social development in August.
Last week, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana during his mid-term Budget policy statement said the grant extension would not compromise fiscal consolidation.
“Any permanent extension or replacement (of the SRD grant) will require permanent increases in revenue, reductions in spending elsewhere, or a combination of the two,” the minister said during his medium term policy statement.
Other options that have been offered include a wealth tax on those who earn more than R1 million a year or an increase in VAT.
The Star