As the nation prepares for finance minister Enoch Godongwana to table his budget speech tomorrow, Capetonians have not shied away from sharing their expectations. Smile FM visited the Muizenberg area to speak to the public.
Nadima Khan says she wants the government to scrap the SASSA child support grant, and that it should instead allocate more funds towards pensioners. The 62-year-old from Grassy Park says she is forced to work because she only gets about R2000 pension every month. Despite retiring years ago, she works as a baker and sells confectionery to companies to make ends meet.
“I feel that if they stop giving the child support grant, this country will be in a better space. They (those mothers) need to go work. That money could instead be given to pensioners. If you have a vehicle like me, the pension is not even enough petrol for the month. I am receiving R 2090. My cousin in Australia gets the equivalent of R6 000 a month. She has a vehicle, she can eat and go wherever she wants to. If the government can give us a little bit more, we will appreciate that,” says an emotional Khan.
Bryan Cohen says he has lost faith in the government:
“Too many promises have been made historically, and delivery has been limited. We had a lot of hope of South Africans in 1994, and in a sense that dream has been stolen by a small minority of people that have corrupted the country and misappropriated money,” says a cynical Cohen.
Adiel Cassiem resides in a shelter. He has been waiting for a RDP house for approximately 20 years. He wants more money to be allocated towards housing:
“Give our people houses, so that we can stay out of the shelters. I have been waiting now for almost 20 years, so I don’t know what is going on,” says Cassiem.
Meanwhile, Riaan Heynes says there is a culture of entitlement in the country and that people should not be waiting for handouts:
“My expectation is, at the risk of being a little bit cynical, that it would be a budget that would be based on political posturing, in other words – hit the rich with tax, and create a pretty picture for those that are less advantaged,” concludes Heynes.
