President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to make a decision on a new basic income grant in his February 2022 state of the nation address, however, his economic advisors are split over its feasibility.
reports that a division in the Presidential Economic Advisory Council has formed, with some warning that it is unaffordable. The council includes leading local and international economists, academics and experts on economic policy.
“Our vision must be to promote employment rather than ever-increasing state-funded income support,” the council said in its first briefing note. “We face a real danger of policy error at a macroeconomic level where we will limit our economy’s growth and job-creation potential by increasing the system of social grants payments in an unsustainable manner.”
“The depth of poverty in South Africa is such that we cannot feasibly grow our way out of poverty in any reasonable timeline, with the current patterns of income distribution,” it reads. The researchers said that, if funded through personal income tax, a universal BIG at the level of the special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant would result in an approximate average increase in effective tax rates at 8.2%. Alternatively, the cost of implementing the grant can be funded through the reallocation of public expenditure, Nedlac said.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rule of law in South Africa protects even those who scorn itTourism Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu appeared to be attacking the courts for their critical role in upholding the rule of law.
Read more »
Boost for mandatory vaccination policies in South Africa – but a word of warningThe recent Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) ruling in favour of mandatory vaccinations is likely to strongly influence the decision to dismiss employees who refuse to vaccinate.
Read more »
More doctors expected to leave South Africa because of the NHIPrivate healthcare groups have warned that the planned implementation of the National Health Insurance scheme could lead to a wave of doctors and other skilled professionals leaving the country due to the additional working and earning restrictions placed on them.
Read more »
South Africa looking for a World Bank loan for the second time since 1994South Africa’s government is in talks with the World Bank to secure additional funding, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Read more »
Banks warn of new scam targeting customers in South AfricaFraud continues to pose the risk of serious financial losses for banking customers, and all indicators point towards the fact that there are new scams and an increasing number of the victims, says Reana Steyn, the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS).
Read more »
Covid in South Africa shows the limits of using courts to fight political battlesIn the current pandemic, this history of “lawfare” has inspired a new series of legal challenges to the new legal rules and structures that govern the country.
Read more »