The Social Policy Initiative is pleased to announce the screening of its documentary film “A Decent Path”, at this year’s Human Rights Day Festival at Constitutional Hill, on Thursday 21 March 2024.
The film centres on beneficiaries of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant by telling the human story of the 8,5 million ordinary people who rely on the SRD grant. Currently, there are almost 12 million unemployed people in South Africa but no permanent social assistance grants for poor 18- to 59-year-olds. The R350 amount recently came under the spotlight when the Minister of Finance announced a R20 increase – the first increase since 2020.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa is widely celebrated for its inclusivity and protection of socio-economic rights. These are rights that give people access to certain material goods necessary for them to live in conditions consistent with human dignity and reach their full potential. More specifically, Section 27 (1) (c) guarantees everyone the right to social security. And through social security, rights such as health, education, employment, and dignity are enabled.
“I was keen on using film specifically because the deficits of poverty are so much more than rands and cents,” said SPI Executive Director, Isobel Frye. “I wanted the lived realities of the inequality of South Africa to be visible, not from statistics and research papers, but viscerally as the viewer gets to know beneficiaries and their communities.”
The tragic impact of the loss of the grant to some beneficiaries is a stark reminder of how piece- meal policy- making can devastate lives, dreams and hopes.
This film was made possible by UNICEF.
The film will screen at the Human Rights Conference Room at the Old Fort at Constitutional Hill, Braamfontein, Johannesburg from 14h30 to 16h00.
ENDS
Enquiries
Mathapelo Nyembe, Communications Intern
socialmedia@spi.net.za | 078 838 7335
