DA shows that R410 child grant is not enough to give poor children proper nutrition
This follows the announcement by the former Finance Minister, Malusi Gigaba, that VAT will increase from 14% to 15%.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister of Social Development, Bridget Masango, went shopping in Tembisa Plaza on February 27 to determine whether the R410 child grant is truly enough to provide poor children with the basic nutritional foods they need for a month.
This follows the announcement last week by the former Finance Minister, Malusi Gigaba, that VAT will increase from 14% to 15%.
It was also announced that the child support grant would increase from R380 to R400 on April 1, and to R410 on October 1.
The DA has opposed this VAT increase because it is anti-poor.
Masango said that Gigaba’s absurd argument that the vulnerable would be protected through ‘zero-rating basic food items and above average increases in grants proves that he has no idea how poor people in our country struggle each and every day just to put food on the table.
“According to the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (PASCA), poor mothers tend to buy 38 items of food which include more goods where VAT is applicable, opposed to the zero-rated foods. This essentially means that the above-inflation grants increases to supposedly ‘combat’ the VAT increase is just not enough,” said Masango.
Masango added that the DA showed that the R410 child grant was not sustainable, as they were only able to buy some items, including 1kg chicken, 5kg maize meal, 250g tea, 2 packets of soup, 2.5kg sugar, 2.5kg cake flour, 2l cooking oil, 2kg rice, 2 cans pilchards, 2 of mixed vegetables, 2.5kg samp and 1kg brown beans.
“This is not even enough to fill young tummies for a month, let alone fill a trolley, and it excluded some basic essentials children need.
“The reality is that in many cases, the child support grant is not only needed to fill a child’s basic dietary needs alone but is also used to fund transport fees, school expenses, clothing and other household essentials. South Africa’s child malnutrition level currently stands at an alarming 27 per cent and every day four children die due to severe acute malnutrition-related causes,” added Masango.
Masango emphasised that their social services require urgent intervention and that would require decisive leadership from the new Minister of Social Development, Susan Shabangu.
“Currently, there is still a lot of chaos and confusion regarding the distribution of social grants. Shabangu’s first order of business must be to call an urgent meeting between all the role-players involved in the social grants crisis to find a solution to this crisis. The Minister must now step up to fix the mess left by her predecessor, Bathabile ‘Dodging’ Dlamini,” said Masasngo.
Instead of politicking with the livelihoods of the 17 million poor South Africans who depend on social grants every month, the DA urges the Minister to make the vulnerable the first priority of government.
