Budget is an insult to pensioners, the poor

HOW can a pensioner live with a pittance of an increase that is literally swallowed by the rise in VAT to 15%.

The Democratic Liberal Congress says the Budget presented by the minister of finance does not address the fundamental social and financial challenges of the day-to-day needs of all South Africans.

The poor and vulnerable have unfortunately become the sacrificial victims of government financial intervention through corruption, state capture and the maladministration of state-owned enterprises.

The announcement of the pathetic R90 increase for pensioners is an insult to the people who have toiled the soil of this country all their lives to build our nation.

The financial reality is that the cost of living is unaffordable. The latest price barometer shows there has been a hike in basic food items.

A basic food basket is estimated at between R1 689 and R2 242. Hence the cost of food prices in South Africa increased 4.50% last month compared to the same time last year.

The average utility account of a pensioner for rates, electricity, water and sewage disposal equates to R1 700 a month.

This effectively makes the life of the vulnerable pensioner economically difficult. How can ordinary South Africans survive in the current economy?

Pensioners have already cut down on their food basket and now face another balancing act of redefining their priorities with this pittance of an increase.

It is clear that the poor and vulnerable are again being overlooked in this Budget and the sad reality is that all the elected public representatives, who blow hot air in Parliament, have failed them dismally. PATRICK PILLAY Phoenix