How do you live on R350 a month?

“I spent R48 to get here and I will use another R48 to go home.”

With the average cost of a household food basket in Pietermaritzburg at R4 253 a month, what gets left out when the city’s unemployed Covid-19 grant recipients cut their pies as thin as possible to provide for themselves and their dependents on R350 a month?

Maritzburg Sun spoke to some Covid-19 relief grant recipients, who queued in snaking lines in the rain outside the city’s post office waiting to receive their February grant money, to find out what R350 looks like to each individual.

According to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity (PEJD), who tallies the monthly cost of a food basket for lower income families and tracks inflation levels on a monthly and yearly basis, as of January 26, 2022, the cost of a basic nutritious diet for a family of four is R3 045.88. In Pietermaritzburg, based on market-related prices from the city’s most affordable supermarkets, the cost of a monthly household food basket is R4 253.

Of that amount, the price of core foods, defined by PEJD as “foods prioritised and brought first [to ensure] that families do not go hungry whilst ensuring that meals can be cooked” is currently priced at R2 338.83. This is a R144.81 increase from January 2021 and a R36.29 increase from December 2021.

“When the prices of core foods increase, there is less money to secure other important mostly nutritionally rich foods, which are essential for health and well-being and strong immune systems... The high cost of core staple foods result in a lot of proper nutritious food being removed off the family plates. The consequences of high costs on the core foods has a negative impact on overall household health and wellbeing, and child development,” PEJD notes in their January 2022 Household Affordability Index report.

For local Covid-19 relief grant recipient Njabulani Sindane, who lost his job in April 2021 and has been receiving the grant since then, R350 is a far stretch to feeding his six children, all under the age of 10 years old.

“I stand in the queue, waiting for my R350, knowing it won’t feed my family. I am just trying to survive. I have to borrow money sometimes, not knowing how I am going to pay it back. R350 is too little to survive on,” he said.

Thandi Ngcobo (42), of New Hanover, said she is hoping to buy groceries for her household with the R350 grant, but already, standing in the queue, before she even gets her money, R96 of the R350 is going towards transport for the day.

“I spent R48 to get here and I will use another R48 to go home. I am already hungry, but if I take more money from the grant to buy a meal to eat, I will only be able to afford mealie meal and potatoes for groceries. It is very tough, as I have not been working since last year,” said Ngcobo.

Thandeka Zuma said this month will be her first time receiving the R350 grant. The elderly woman, who, when Maritzburg Sun reporters spoke to her at 1pm, had been standing in the line since 7am that morning, said she is hoping the grant will ease some of the stress of providing for her family.

“It is very difficult as I am old and I haven’t been working. This grant will be for food. I applied online and I am hoping that I get it so that I can buy groceries for my home. I don’t know how much I will be able to afford on R350, but I am going to make it stretch as far as I can,” Zuma said.

For 30-year-old Nelly Biyase, losing her job in July last year due to Covid-19 meant moving back home and relying on family members to provide for her living costs. She applied for the Covid-19 relief grant in August and has been receiving the R350 since November last year. “Some months it gets deposited directly into my bank account, and that is great because I don’t have to pay for transport to come stand here all day. But this month I didn’t get it in my account, so here I am,” she said. She added it was a long and hard process to apply for the R350 which mostly gets spent on her toiletries.

“I am very grateful for the grant, but it is not enough to get by on. I’m very lucky that I have a sister who supports me, but it is hard to ask for help after being able to afford to look after yourself. I am glad with the grant, at least I can afford to buy my personal cosmetics,” she said.

Speaking about what a reasonable amount would be to get by a little easier on the grant, Biyase said R500 would be better.

“I understand the rate of unemployment is very high and the government doesn’t have a lot of money, but R500 I think would be reasonable, especially when you take into account inflation levels over the last year, and that the R350 grant amount has stayed the same for the last two years when inflation has almost doubled.”

According to the PJED report, the year-on-year rate of inflation for an average basic food basket is R349.82 — meaning the increase in basic monthly food costs for a household over one year, is 18 cents less than the R350 grant amount that has remained fixed since its inception in March 2020.