Christina  van Straten, Basic Income Grant Advocacy intern at The Studies In Poverty And Inequality Institute, joins Cape Talk on the statistics that Statistics South Africa published its Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QFLS) yesterday for Q3 2021.

The survey indicated that South Africa's unemployment rate reached a record 34.9% for the third quarter - half a percentage point higher than in the second quarter.

The unemployment rate among women was 37.3% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to 32.9% among men. Black African women (41.5% unemployment) were hardest hit, compared to 9.9% among white women, 25.2% among Indian/Asian women, and 29.1% among coloured women.

Africa Melane is joined by Christina Van Straten from the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute to talk about the need for basic grants in the country.

Christina indicated that the unemployment rate is at an all time low, that government needs to take extreme measures to prevent the economy from crashing. She speaks about the need for a Basic Income grant, how it is funded and what we can do to educate ourselves out of believing the myths associated with a Basic Income Grant.

The grant will also allow people the financial support to build small businesses for themselves to generate a longer lasting income. The basic income grant is not a new idea, it is a necessity if we want to inject economic spending back into the country.

Source: Cape Talk/702