In South Africa, four out of 10 people who can work don’t have jobs, and more than half of the population lives in extreme poverty. The government provides a monthly amount of R530 as child support to help about 13.2 million children. However, this amount is 30% less than the minimum amount (R760) needed to buy food.
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Expert Calls for Increase in Child Grant
Sarah Hlongwane, a poor widow, lives in a small brick room at Maponyane, near Marlboro Gardens. She has 12 children and depends only on the child support grant to support them.
What she spends on |
Amount (in R) |
|---|---|
Food |
1500 |
School Transport |
600 |
Rent |
400 |
Total |
2500 |
She gets R2 500 per month from the grant. But, this is not enough to cover all the expenses,” Hlongwane shared with The Citizen.
Government’s Plan and Expert’s View
The government plans to increase the number of food items that won’t be subject to extra tax (VAT). Mervyn Abrahams, who works with the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity (PEJD) group, believes that solving poverty requires different solutions working together.
How to Fight Hunger
Abrahams supports the government’s plan to increase the number of food items without extra tax. He also suggests:
- Limit the prices of electricity and fuel.
- Increase the child support grant to match the minimum amount needed to buy food (R760).
He says that social security is the only way to prevent people from going hungry in a country with high unemployment. But, even those who get social grants can’t afford enough nutritious food.
The Cost of Basic Food
The PEJD tracks the price of 44 basic foods that most low-income families would try to buy if they had enough money. At the end of June, these foods cost R5 257.77. Although this is less than the cost in the previous month, it is still too high, especially when you consider other necessary things like electricity, transport, and paying off debts, which have become more expensive.
Is the Child Support Grant Enough?
Abrahams says that the child support grant is too small for a mother to provide enough food for her child. Right now, the child support grant is R530. But, our research shows that it costs R935 to feed a child on average. This means the child support grant of R530 is 30% less than the minimum amount needed to buy food (R760). It is also 43% less than the average cost to provide a basic nutritious diet for a child.
The Effect on Children
Because the child support grant is so small and can’t provide enough money to feed a child a proper meal, we believe that it should be set at the minimum amount needed to buy food. This is because it is mainly used to buy food.
When we look at how small the child support grant is, it’s not surprising that South Africa has a big problem with stunting in boys under five (about 30%) and in girls (about 25%).
Stunting results from a long-term lack of nutrition and greatly affects children. Some of the effects on the brain are almost impossible to reverse once they have happened. Children who are stunted and eat the least amount of nutritious food do not do well in school. Their school results are much lower than expected. We also expect most of them to go to clinics and hospitals more often because they get sick more easily.
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