A national minimum wage (NMW) in South Africa is inevitable. But the level at which it is set will be the difference between addressing poverty and inequality meaningfully and plunging the economy into decline. After a general consensus that a NMW would benefit South Africa, the second day of the NMW symposium held at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) last week covered the level it should be set at and suggested practical guidelines for its implementation...
The Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (Pacsa), for example, uses a price barometer which is revised monthly and includes a static basic basket of goods. When energy and medical expenses are included, poor people would still have to turn to debt, as many already do. Read the full article
here published in Money Web on 8 Feb 2016.
on Thursday, 10 March 2016.
Posted in PACSA and Partners in the Media
Middle to low-income households, already struggling to make ends meet each month, will be pushed deeper into debt by the latest electricity hike. That is according to Mervyn Abrahams, of the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (Pacsa), who said he expected more households to have their power cut or forced off the grid.
“This cycle has to stop and Eskom needs to find a different business model that would allow them to generate sufficient electricity at affordable prices for households and business, without pushing hundreds of thousands of households deeper into debt, poverty and darkness,” he said. Read the full article
here published in the Daily News on 3 March 2016.
on Thursday, 10 March 2016.
Posted in PACSA and Partners in the Media
THE market price for cauliflower has increased by as much as 10 times, tomatoes by four and potatoes have almost doubled in the past few months as the impact of the drought starts to show in food shortages and prices, say fresh food producers. Struggling commercial farmers are closing shop and others are downsizing their operations and staff to keep afloat. Read the full article
here published on the Kwanalu website but sourced from The Mercury
on Monday, 14 December 2015.
Posted in PACSA and Partners in the Media
Low-income households cannot make it through the month on their incomes, underspending on food by 55.6%, the 2015 Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (Pacsa) Food Price Barometer has found.
on Thursday, 12 November 2015.
Posted in PACSA and Partners in the Media