The DA calls for the provincial government’s intervention with a strategic focus on facilitating economic growth, which could create much needed jobs, as the poorest of the poor would soon not be able to put food on the table at the rate prices are increasing.
In May this year, Mpumalanga’s Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) Index was at 6.6%. It jumped to 7.9% in June (according to Stats SA). This literally means that households will be paying more for basic food like sugar, rice, mealie-meal, bread, cooking oil, meat etc. This will hit hard the poorest of the poor in the province.
Currently, Mpumalanga has a population of 4.78 million, and 2.3 million of those (50.8%) are living below the lower-bound poverty line of R810 per month, according to the Socio Economic Review & Outlook of Mpumalanga report which was released in March 2022.
This latest Consumer Price Inflation Index as revealed by Stats SA shows that the continuous dramatic increases in food and transport is making it very difficult for residents in the province, especially the poor, to survive.
The above statistics and the current trajectory of our country calls for action to be taken in protecting vulnerable communities.
The June 2022 CPI Index also revealed that:
- Food and non-alcoholic beverages went up by 8.6% and the biggest contributors to this was fats and oils which went up by 32.5%, breads and cereals which went up by 11.2%, and meat that went up by 9.5%. In terms of a Rand value and looking just at the price of oil, a 2 liter bottle which once cost R54.99 in June 2021 is now around R90 today.
- Transport increased by 20% with the biggest increases being in fuel which increased by 45.3%, and public transport which increased by 14.3%.
As 32.6% of households in Mpumalanga considered access to food to be either inadequate (18%) or severely inadequate (14.6%) in Stats SA’s Statistics 2021 General Household Survey which was released this June, the DA finds it strange that the provincial Department of Social Development decided to reduce their target on the number of people accessing food from community nutrition and development centers – from 61 818 in 2019/2020 to a mere 3 000 in 2022/2023 completely unacceptable.
In light of the above, the DA has written to the Premier of Mpumalanga, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, and Social Development MEC Lindiwe Ntshalintshali asking them to intervene in this time when the rising cost of living is causing a strain on destitute households. Read letter here