Meagre amount will not alleviate poverty, economists warn
Economists dismiss as insufficient R3,500 a month as poor South Africans spend most of their income on food and transport
A sum of R3,500 is unlikely to improve the lot of poor households, economists say. Poor South Africans spend most of their income on food and transport and have to find ways to supplement this, for example by getting income from other family members. On average, low-income households spend about R1,000 on food. Transport also eats up a large chunk of income. This is why R3,500 is unlikely to make a dent in the lot of the poor, according to Standard Bank economist Kim Silberman and economist Mike Schussler. Silberman said that for "households that earn R3,500 per month, expenditure is greater than income". Transport costs absorbed at least 13% of that income. "They don’t make ends meet," Silberman said. Little money was available to meet education, clothing and discretionary costs, she said.
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