INSIDE POLITICS TEAM
SOCIAL Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu says the Social Development portfolio is in the process of devising a Basic Income Support for the poor owing to the rising cost of living.
Zulu was addressing members of parliament (MPs) during the two-day State of the Nation Address Debate in Cape Town.
The minister reiterated that it is important that the design of a Basic Income Support (BIS) should resonate with the fiscal space while supporting government’s intended social outcomes and future-targeted policy objectives.
The possible induction of a universal Basic Income Grant for South Africans has been in discussion for quite some time.
The Basic Income Grant would provide income support for individuals between the age of 18 and 59 years old who are struggling and don’t have any social assistance.
“While these historic conditions resulted in the innovative delivery of free basic services — including housing, health services, public amenities, and social grants — to the majority of South Africa’s population, I remind you that last year the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Enoch Godongwana, informed us that government will be spending R3.33 trillion on the social wage over a period of three years,” said Zulu.
“While we are entering the second year of the three, we should particularly be mindful that this allocation is targeted at leaving no one behind by supporting vulnerable populations as well as low-income households. In this was government’s social wage intervention ensures that the greatest number of South Africans is receiving public services, and that, as much as possible, the cost of living that the vulnerable and needy in particular would have incurred is materially reduced.”
Zulu also called out some of the members of the house for using improper language to address the President of the Republic during her debating session.
Zulu said that the majority party would like to listen to those whose debates contribute to the development of the country, but unfortunately many members only stands up to grandstand, politically.
She said such disruptive and chaotic scenes taint Parliament in a bad light and shows MPs as people who are not concerned about the public.
INSIDE POLITICS
