Civil society organisation PayTheGrants has warned that rising unemployment is a ‘ticking time bomb’ that could have dire consequences.
The movement’s Daddy Mabe said the government was aware of the implications of the crisis but was “paying allegiance to capital interests at the expense of the poor”.
“The austerity outlook tells you that captains of industry have given a subtle warning to government in the approach to be taken and it is conforming to these subtle threats.
“Big business is not interested in job creation initiatives. They only invest in their own wealth and offshore opportunities,” Mabe said.
He said a permanent universal Basic Income Grant was needed.
Civil society groups PayTheGrants, Institute for Economic Justice, Social Policy Initiative and Black Sash have called on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to extend the the R350 SRD (Social Relief of Distress) grant by writing it into the Social Assistance Act as a permanent categorial social assistance grant before March 2023, with an initial value indexed to the Food Poverty Line.
It also called for the introduction of a universal Basic Income Grant to be phased in from 2023/24.
Mabe said it was crucial for the country to create jobs.
“It is suicidal for government to think that private capital will build industries. Privatising state-owned enterprises and hoping this will create jobs will only result in failure,” Mabe said.