Unpacking the 2017 Budget: What are the options for the poor? 9 March 2016
The CPLO and PACSA co-hosted a roundtable discussion on Unpacking the 2017 Budget. Mr Mervyn Abrahams, Director of PACSA, and KPMG Economist, Mr Christie Viljoen addressed the discussion, which was attended by 45 people. Both Mr Abrahams and Mr Viljoen argued that the 2017 Budget was seemingly geared towards the poor – social spending took the biggest slice of the Budget. However, Mr Abrahams further argued that the increases in grants are below headline inflation which means that households would be worse off in 2017 than in 2016. Similarly, the Child Support Grant of R380 (an increase of R20) is far below the food poverty line – it is simply not enough to meet the nutritional requirements of a small child aged between 10 – 13 years. The discussion focussed on how and what government can do differently to build an economy from below. The roundtable was the first in a series of similar themed ones to explore ways to stimulate an economy that responds to the real context and crises of the poor.
CPLO Researchers, Mr Kenny Pasensie and Fr Matsepane Morare SJ, with members of the Appropriations Committee in Parliament.
Presentation: