Government must increase social grants to avoid a humanitarian crisis
4 March 2016
Release: immediate
The failure of President Zuma’s government to increase social grants adequately will have a disastrous impact on the lives of poor people as the price of staple food items continues to rise as a result of the drought.
The DA urges the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, to reconsider our proposal for an above-inflation increase in social grants to offset the rise in food prices. We must act now to avert a humanitarian disaster with the effect of the drought only set to worsen over the course of the year.
According to PACSA (Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action), the price of maize went up by R21.02 for a 25kg bag during the month of February alone, while a 10kg bag of potatoes is now R20.92 more expensive than it was a year ago.
Yet last month, Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, announced almost negligible increases for social grants:
|
Old Age Grant |
Up by R80 a month |
|
Child Support Grant |
Up by R20 a month |
|
Foster Care Grant |
Up by R30 a month |
|
Disability Grant |
Up by R80 a month |
The exorbitant increases in staple food items will mean that even with the meagre increase in grants, poor people will be worse off than before. The ANC is not caring for the most vulnerable in our society.
The drastic rise in food prices should not have come as a surprise. DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Annette Steyn MP, has been raising alarm bells since October last year. But her calls to government to make provision for drought related food price increases fell on deaf ears.
Minister of Social Development, Bathabile Dlamini, must spend less time defending President Zuma and more time engaging with her colleague at Finance in order to find a solution to this looming disaster and avert a national crisis before it is too late.
In the coming months the DA will be putting forward proposals on how to amend the budget in order to cut wasteful and fruitless expenditure and make more money available for those who need it most, such as those receiving social grants and students who cannot afford university.
We cannot allow the most vulnerable in our society to continue to suffer as a result of an uncaring government that has failed to grow the economy, create jobs, and prioritise the needs of the poor.
Issued by Bridget Masango, Shadow Minister of Social Development, DA, 4 March 2016
