Latest news with #BlackSash
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Human rights organisation, COSATU and economists debate future of social grants
South Africa's economy is not creating enough jobs, so what happens to the millions of people who currently rely on social grants? This was the question raised by activists, economists and labour leaders at a panel discussion hosted by the Black Sash in Cape Town on Wednesday. The event was part of the organisation's 70th anniversary celebrations, and looked at the impact of removing social assistance in a country with high youth unemployment, food insecurity and growing inequality. The General Household Survey released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) on Tuesday, shows that the proportion of people receiving social grants grew from about 13% in 2003 to 31% in 2019 and surged to 40% in 2024 'due to the introduction of the special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant'. Rachel Bukasa, Executive Director of Black Sash, said social grants are not a luxury, but a necessary response to high unemployment and poverty. 'Grants are an important stop-gap to the poverty and unemployment that exists. One of the biggest misconceptions when we talk about grants is that we don't want people to work. When we call for grants, it's in the absence of the jobs that the government has promised year after year.' She said while job creation remains the goal, the economy doesn't offer enough work for those who need it. Bukasa dismissed claims that grants breed dependency, saying they are a vital safety net while the government works to improve the job market. COSATU's Tony Ehrenreich agreed with Bukasa. He said the alternative to social support from the state is people falling into hunger and desperation. 'Grants are only a requirement when the market has failed. If the market is perfect there will be no need for grants, but the market is not perfect so we need to take care of people in the interim … It's not a question of jobs or grants. It's both,' Ehrenreich said. StatsSA reported that the official unemployment rate stood at about 33% in the first quarter of 2025. The expanded unemployment rate, which includes discouraged job seekers, is 43%. Ehrenreich said these statistics show the current economic direction is not working. 'We can say the system has failed if we look at the unemployment rate and deepening inequality … Must poor people pay for the failure of the rich and the public policymakers who drive around in their fancy cars? That can't be the response.' But political economist Phumlani Majozi said the current grant system is putting too much pressure on the country's fiscus. 'South Africans agree that the best way to move forward as a society is for people to have jobs … In our budget, the social grant expenditure is massive. 65% of our expenditure goes towards social grants, subsidised housing etc … Fiscally, it's not something that is manageable.' He criticised the lack of government vision. 'Where is the plan from the president and his cabinet to say by a certain year these are the targets … It doesn't seem like Enoch Godongwana has a plan.' Majozi said the system discouraged reform. 'There will be no incentive for government to change and pursue policies to encourage economic growth if our first argument is that we need social grants.' To which Bukasa responded that social security is a right, not a favour. 'Social assistance is protected by the Constitution. So we need to do away with the notion that it's a favour the government is doing … The fact that we have high needs for social protection right now is a reflection of governments inability to deliver on job creation.' This article first appeared on GroundUp. Read the original article here.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Over 25 million South Africans rely on social grants
The latest General Household Survey (GHS) released by Statistics South Africa has revealed that a staggering 25.4 million South Africans, or 40.1% of the population rely on social grants for survival. The GHS shows that 50.4% of all households in the country receive at least one form of social grant, making grants the second most important source of income after salaries. In some of South Africa's poorest provinces, more households depend on grants than on salaries. 'A larger percentage of households received grants compared to salaries as a source of income in five provinces: Eastern Cape (65.6% versus 49.0%), Free State (64.2% versus 54.6%), Limpopo (62.9% versus 50.4%), Northern Cape (64.0% versus 60.5%) and Mpumalanga (59.1% versus 56.8%),' Stats SA reported. In response to the rising numbers, Evashnee Naidoo from Black Sash said: 'The increase in poverty, unemployment and inequality increases month-on-month in South Africa due to poor economic growth and limited to no employment opportunities, particularly for those aged 18–59. As we know, the highest rate of unemployment is for the age group 18–35, where the government has also failed to provide an adequate social security safety net to protect and cushion individuals adequately from birth to death.' With the government adopting austerity budgeting, Naidoo warned that 'spending on social spending is decreasing at an alarming rate. Black Sash calls on the government to end austerity budgeting and rather prioritise social spending so that it firms people living in South Africa and allows economic growth to flourish in communities,' she said. Naidoo said access to grants also remained an issue. 'Access to pay channels, as well as government institutions for recourse are particular challenges in the administration of grants, particularly in peri-urban and rural areas, where beneficiaries are shunted from pillar to post.' Black Sash said it would continue to call for permanent Basic Income Support for those aged 18–59 years. 'This would ensure dignity to our people and provide a secured source of income to individuals and households,' Naidoo published by IOL
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Over 25 million South Africans depend on social grants amid rising poverty
Stats SA's statistics show that a staggering 25.4 million South Africans rely on social grants. Image: Independent Newspapers Archives The latest General Household Survey (GHS) released by Statistics South Africa has revealed that a staggering 25.4 million South Africans, or 40.1% of the population rely on social grants for survival. The GHS shows that 50.4% of all households in the country receive at least one form of social grant, making grants the second most important source of income after salaries. In some of South Africa's poorest provinces, more households depend on grants than on salaries. 'A larger percentage of households received grants compared to salaries as a source of income in five provinces: Eastern Cape (65.6% versus 49.0%), Free State (64.2% versus 54.6%), Limpopo (62.9% versus 50.4%), Northern Cape (64.0% versus 60.5%) and Mpumalanga (59.1% versus 56.8%),' Stats SA reported. In response to the rising numbers, Evashnee Naidoo from Black Sash said: 'The increase in poverty, unemployment and inequality increases month-on-month in South Africa due to poor economic growth and limited to no employment opportunities, particularly for those aged 18–59. As we know, the highest rate of unemployment is for the age group 18–35, where the government has also failed to provide an adequate social security safety net to protect and cushion individuals adequately from birth to death.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading With the government adopting austerity budgeting, Naidoo warned that 'spending on social spending is decreasing at an alarming rate. Black Sash calls on the government to end austerity budgeting and rather prioritise social spending so that it firms people living in South Africa and allows economic growth to flourish in communities,' she said. Naidoo said access to grants also remained an issue. 'Access to pay channels, as well as government institutions for recourse are particular challenges in the administration of grants, particularly in peri-urban and rural areas, where beneficiaries are shunted from pillar to post.' Black Sash said it would continue to call for permanent Basic Income Support for those aged 18–59 years. 'This would ensure dignity to our people and provide a secured source of income to individuals and households,' Naidoo said. THE MERCURY
IOL News
4 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Seventy years of standing up and standing tall: Black Sash turns 70
Black Sash standing near the Parliamentary precinct where members frequently held silent protests to put an end to apartheid, a stop to unlawful imprisonment of anti-apartheid dissidents, the banning of activists, military conscription, and the breaking up of families. Image: UCT Special Collections – Black Sash Seventy years ago, a handful of principled women stood on a street corner, draped in black sashes, their silence cutting through the noise of apartheid's rising tide. They were not politicians. They held no official power. Yet in that moment, they birthed a movement that would become one of South Africa's most enduring voices of conscience. It was 1955. Parliament was moving to tear Coloured voters from the roll. The Constitution was under siege. And in a society that expected women to host tea parties and keep quiet, these women chose to stand instead—silent, unwavering, unafraid. What began as a quiet protest on the streets of Cape Town would ignite a movement. That black sash—meant to mourn the death of justice—became a symbol of defiance, dignity, and fierce moral clarity. With each vigil, each march, each brave act of bearing witness, they stitched a new kind of resistance into the fabric of South African history. Black Sash was born—not in shouts or slogans, but in silence. And that silence roared. Nelson Mandela once called Black Sash 'the conscience of white South Africa'—the moral compass, the truth-teller, the ethical anchor in an era of silence. And now, in 2025, that iconic sash turns 70. Thanks to a small group of white women appalled by the erosion of constitutional democracy in South Africa - particularly the National Party's attempt to strip Coloured voters of their right to vote in the Cape Province. These women—wives, mothers, professionals—stood in silent protest, daring to dissent in a world where women were expected to keep quiet. They were dismissed at the time— "tea ladies with too much time" as one politician once said. But history had other plans. From vigils outside Parliament to standing against bannings, detentions, pass laws, forced removals, and the horrors of apartheid's legal machinery, Black Sash found its voice—and made sure the voiceless were heard too. One of their most revolutionary acts wasn't loud. It was practical. The founding of Advice Offices—quiet, tireless spaces that helped Black South Africans navigate the oppressive nightmare of apartheid bureaucracy. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ They helped people get their ID books, pensions, housing rights, and freedom of movement. It was resistance dressed in paperwork. Bureaucratic sabotage with compassion. That work continues today, still vital, still grounded in human dignity. These women shared conspiratorial winks during protests, hid illegal pamphlets under diaper bags, and smuggled information in Christmas pudding tins. They were fierce and funny. If you were lucky enough to attend a Black Sash conference, you'd know to expect sharp political debate and homemade lemon squares. How could we forget women like Molly Blackburn, who fearlessly investigated police brutality and died tragically young in a car accident. Or Sheena Duncan, whose quiet authority and deep Christian conviction made her a moral compass in dark times. Or Mary Burton, who carried her activism from Black Sash to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. These weren't just activists. They were architects of conscience. Seventy years on, South Africa may no longer be in the grip of formal apartheid, but for millions, injustice has simply changed its uniform. It no longer wears jackboots—it hides behind malfunctioning grant systems, broken service delivery, and indifferent bureaucracy. And once again, the Black Sash is there—watching, warning, working. Today, Black Sash is on the frontlines of economic justice, fighting for the soul of the Constitution where it matters most: at community level. There's #HandsOffOurGrants, one of the most significant post-apartheid human rights campaigns in recent memory. When grant recipients—primarily women—were being illegally debited, exploited by financial service providers, and denied full access to their social protection, it was the Black Sash who stepped in. Who held government and private corporations accountable. Who reminded us that the right to social security is not charity—it is justice. Through its Community-Based Monitoring programme, Black Sash trains and supports local human rights monitors who collect evidence and raise alarms on failing clinics, inaccessible Home Affairs offices, overcrowded SASSA centres, and the daily indignities that poor and working-class South Africans endure. These aren't abstract reports—they're living, breathing testimonies from the ground. In the face of growing inequality and joblessness, the organisation's Basic Income Support(BIS) campaign is a moral call to action. The Sash is unapologetically demanding a permanent, universal basic income grant for those aged 18 to 59—because dignity should not depend on employment in an economy that has none to offer.
IOL News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Black Sash urges government to turn SRD grant into meaningful Basic Income Grant
Black Sash warns that South Africa's planned Basic Income Grant must be universal, dignified, and adequately funded - not just a renamed SRD grant. Human rights group Black Sash has welcomed the ANC's renewed promise to turn the current R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant into a permanent Basic Income Grant (BIG). The ANC's statement, made by Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula in Soweto, signals a commitment to long-term financial support for the unemployed and people living in poverty. The SRD grant, introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, has been a lifeline for nearly 13 million people – including South Africans, refugees, and asylum seekers – many of whom have no other income or support. But Black Sash warns that simply renaming the SRD grant is not enough. The group says a real Basic Income Grant must be available to everyone who needs it, must be easy to access, and must be enough to cover basic needs. The current amount of R370 is far below the food poverty line and cannot help people live with dignity or escape poverty. Black Sash is calling on government to: Share a clear plan and timeline for introducing a proper BIG; Fix the problems with the SRD system that unfairly block eligible people; Raise the grant amount to at least match the poverty line; and Fund the grant in a way that won't hurt other social services. The group also raised concerns about late payments and poor administration, saying government departments like SASSA and Treasury need to improve so people don't suffer unnecessary hardship. 'Black Sash is ready to work with government and civil society to make sure this grant truly helps build a fairer South Africa where everyone can live with dignity,' the organisation said.
