SA's Affordability Crisis

Findings Paint Bleak Picture of Financial Crunch Working Citizens Bear

- Brian Sokutu

With the alarming findings of the latest Household Affordability Index (HAI) report painting a bleak picture of the financial crunch most working South Africans bear - average workers spend over 57% of their monthly earnings on transport and electricity - labour and organs of civil society yesterday expressed extreme concern.

According to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group's (PMBEJD) index covering January 2025, workers earning at the level of the national minimum wage (R28.79 per hour), spend 57.7% of their salary on two essential expenses - transport and 350 kilowatts of pre-paid electricity.

That workers should be spending a large portion of their salary on just those two items, should be considered worrisome, because it costs about R3 830 to support a family of four with food.

Should the food be included into the salary, that translates to a food cost shortfall of about 46.4%. This excludes other expenses: school fees, rent and other basic essentials.

It is therefore, necessary that we should look at wage levels in South Africa," said PMBEJD programme coordinator Mervyn Abrahams.