The rising cost of living was deepening poverty and inequality, and millions of South Africans are unable to provide for themselves and their families, according to president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Speaking during his speech at the state of the Nation Address on Thursday, the president said It was the job of the state to provide a minimum level of protection below which no South African will fall.
"Right now in our country, there are more than 25 million people who receive some form of income support," he said.
"There is the single mother in Alex, worried about how she will make ends meet as the cost of maize and taxi fares continues to rise. There is the factory worker in Gqeberha who now faces an uncertain future as load shedding brings the assembly line to a halt," he said.
Ramaphosa said to counter the rising cost of living, the government will continue the Social Relief of Distress Grant, which currently reaches around 7.8 million people.
"We will ensure that existing social grants are increased to cushion the poor against rising inflation. This will be set out in the budget by the Minister of Finance," he said.
In addition, he said work was underway to develop a mechanism for targeted basic income support for the most vulnerable, within the fiscal constraints.
"This will build on the innovation we have introduced through the SRD Grant, including linking the data that we have across government to make sure we reach all those who are in need," he said.
According to Ramaphosa, the National Treasury is considering the feasibility of urgent measures to mitigate the impact of load shedding on food prices.
"This year, we will take steps to unlock massive value for poor households by expediting the provision of title deeds for subsidised houses.
"The current backlog in processing title deeds is over 1 million houses, which amounts to an estimated R242 billion in assets that should be in the hands of South Africa’s poorest household," he said.
Listen to Andra Nel, purpose manager at KFC’s Add Hope talk about the president’s Sona below and the impact on consumers:
BUSINESS REPORT