Grants Still Not Paid Out
“We are literally in the midst of a severe humanitarian crisis. One in three people have lost their income in the context of Covid-19 and preexisting inequalities have grown. The job losses and the income losses are heavily concentrated among those who are already disadvantaged.” “The most vulnerable in our society are being disproportionately affected […]
Active Citizenship: Civil society outlooks on 2020
One of the unique features of South Africa’s Constitution is the role that it assigns to citizens in ensuring accountable government. We are a ‘participatory democracy’, one where active citizens play a role in ensuring that Parliament and the executive (at every level of government), fulfill the Constitution’s promise of social justice.
DECENT STANDARD OF LIVING: MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FROM UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON EXTREME POVERTY, DR PHILIP ALSTON
Here’s the transcription of Dr Philip Alston’s video message to the Fourth Decent Standard of Living Colloquium in October 2019. I am very grateful for the opportunity to say a few words at the beginning of the Fourth Annual Colloquium on a Decent Standard of Living in South Africa. It’s great that you are engaging in […]
Universal basic income and universal basic services: what have we learned and what’s next?
Over the past years, Universal Basic Income (UBI) has increasingly been discussed in countries across the world. India’s 2019 elections featured UBI in a prominent way; a presidential candidate in the United States 2020 elections has made UBI a core platform of his campaign; a decade-long trial is underway in rural Kenya; and since 2010, […]
Dr Wiseman Magasela – Address at the Decent Standard of Living Colloquium
Address at the Decent Standard of Living Colloquium, 31 October 2019, Burgers Park Hotel, Pretoria Challenges and Contestations: Building an inclusive society and remaining true to our constitutional values through advancing a comprehensive decent standard of living approach. Ladies and Gentlemen! Let us start with the important but often forgotten fact: In South Africa, it […]
BUDGET JUSTICE COALITION KEY POINTS ON THE 2019 MEDIUM TERM BUDGET POLICY STATEMENT (MTBPS) A CALL TO ACTION
THE MEDIUM-TERM BUDGET PROPOSALS WILL MAKE LIFE HARDER FOR THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN SOUTH AFRICA. The MTBPS is government’s broad three-year spending plan and it helps national departments, provinces and municipalities to prepare their detailed budgets for the following year. The 2019 MTBPS shows that government is choosing to deepen budget Austerity. Austerity means […]
A Medium Term Budget Policy Statement that is blind to gender, inequality and ignores Constitutional duties on the state cannot take our country forward
The Budget Justice Coalition (BJC) is concerned that the 2019 MTBPS proposes a deepening of austerity (cutting expenditure to address debt) in the country. The proposals include: a 2% cut in goods, services and capital expenditure each year for the next two years; a ‘fiscal target’ to have a main budget primary balance by 2022/23, […]
NHI is SA’s response to global call for universal health coverage
Healthcare forms the basis for the realisation of a wide variety of socioeconomic rights, which is why the NHI is a much-needed step in the right direction. Conversations surrounding access to quality healthcare are currently dominated by high-level policy discussions in relation to the national health insurance (NHI). These discussions are often far removed from […]
A Life Without Struggle In SA Is Achievable
In among all the numbers, we have lost sight of dignity, and our value and worth as human beings. Poverty and inequality are the greatest obstacles to the full liberation of South Africans from an oppressive and divisive past. The National Development Plan 2030 is dedicated to eliminating exactly that. SA is fortunate to have […]
A Basic Income Grant Could Be The Key To Uplifting Millions Out Of Poverty
Introducing a basic income grant, or ‘Freedom Dividend’, of R1,000 a month will help those who are unemployed and bring minimum-wage earners’ incomes closer to a living wage. This would almost certainly make a meaningful difference to millions of South Africans in their efforts to survive, make a living and find employment. For his 2020 […]
