Business Unity South Africa (Busa) has backed new Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s apprehension around the basic income grant, saying that not only is there no money to fund such intervention, but it would also fail to bring about economic regeneration.
The country has been debating whether it would be feasible to introduce an income grant since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that government would probe the issue when delivering his State of the Nation Address earlier this year.
Business Unity CEO Cas Coovadia said a basic income grant would create a bigger fiscal challenge and would be unsustainable in the absence of economic growth.
“We do need to open up the country for investment and on the back of that create inclusive growth that looked for job-creating opportunities,” said Busa CEO.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told the Sunday Times that the country should rather focus on creating jobs instead of raising funds for a basic income grant.
However, the Institute for Economic Justice’s Neil Coleman challenged this view.
“The question is how can jobs and grants be complementary that they cannot be a mutually exclusive choice in our current condition, there must be a combination of strategies, and that’s what was disturbing about the comment,” said Neil Coleman.
-EWN
In other news – Killer Kau’s sister breaks her silence
Mzansi’s entertainment industry has suffered yet another blow. This after 3 Amapiano artists – Killer Kau, Mpura, and Khanya Hadebe – died in a car accident at the weekend.
They were travelling to a gig in Rustenburg, North West with two friends. Killer Kau’s sister, Xoli Hlatshwayo, told the publication that officers from Marikana cop shop confirmed his death. Learn More
