Rising prices deepen poverty

Many South Africans struggle to make ends meet as high unemployment and heavy reliance on government aid influence consumer prices.

Businesses are making less profit as demand for quality jobs and services gets higher. The rising inflation is not only driving more South Africans deeper into poverty; it is pushing some towards desperate measures, such as crime, in a bid to survive.

The cost of a basket of food is now far out of reach for an average family. The average price increase for March was 0.6% compared with February.

Six of the 13 CPI categories recorded higher annual inflation rates, including restaurants and accommodation services, education, transport, housing and utilities, information and communication, recreation, sport, and culture.

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Education inflation quickened as the annual update of tuition fees took effect. Fees rose 5.4% in 2026, up from 4.5% in 2025. Primary and secondary education increased by 6.2%, from 5% in 2025, while tertiary education rose 4.2%, from 3.7% in 2025. Private secondary schools recorded the sharpest rise at 7.5%.

Transport inflation moved higher but remained in deflationary territory, rising from -2.1% in February to -1.6% in March. The negative rate means transport prices were, on average, 1.6% cheaper in March 2026 than a year earlier.

The deflation was driven by fuel prices declining 8.7% over the 12-month period, supported by a marginal 0.4% increase in vehicle prices.

Passenger transport fares recorded an annual rise of 0.7%.

The monthly rate was 1.6%, driven by a 20% jump in long-distance bus fares and a 14.3% increase in airfares. The CPI release for March covers data collected before the sharp fuel price increases that were introduced on April 1.

Food inflation eased for a second consecutive month to 3.6% in March from 3.7% in February and 4.4% in January. Four of the 11 food and non-alcoholic beverage categories are in deflationary territory, including fruits and nuts, vegetables, cereal products, milk, other dairy products, and eggs.

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The milk, other dairy products, and eggs category recorded its 10th successive month of deflation at -0.5% in March.

Fresh full-cream milk is in its 13th month of deflation at -0.4%, powdered milk fell 5.5% and eggs dropped 6.3%. Cereal products declined by 1% on average, with white rice, porridge, maize meal, basmati rice, instant noodles, brown bread, and bread flour all cheaper than in March 2025.

The average price for a kilogram of white rice, for example, declined from R29.01 to R27.82 over the 12-month period. Meat recorded its second monthly decrease, with beef prices moderating. Declines were recorded for stewing beef (-4.2%), steak (-2%), mince (-1.9%), and offal (-1.5%).

Biltong prices edged lower by 0.2%. The annual rate for meat also slowed, easing to 11.6% from 12.2% in February. Beef products registered lower rates, notably steak retreating from 28.6% to 24.1% and stewing beef from 26.9% to 22.6%.

Pork increased from 17.3% to 19.5% and bacon inflation rose from 2.2% to 4.2%.

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The March CPI figures include results for the latest quarterly survey of housing rents. Actual rents increased by 4% in the first quarter of 2026, up from the 3.7% rise recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Rent for houses increased by 3.7%, townhouses by 5.1%, and flats by 4.2%. Domestic worker wages increased by 3.7% in the first quarter of 2026.

Accommodation services recorded a large 5.4% monthly rise to reach an annual rate of 12.2%. University boarding fees climbed by 7.2% and hotels by 6% between February and March.

With inflation rising and high unemployment rates casting a shadow over communities, growing numbers of South Africans are struggling to survive with diminishing hope for the future.

The government must adapt and realign industries and economic policies to better support the poor.

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