SONA 2024 provides a historic opportunity to set our country on a new course

The document argues that National Treasury's 'hyper-austerity' and unilateral budget cuts undermine constitutional rights and the effectiveness of social programmes. It highlights the decline in funding for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant and the failure of child support grants to keep pace with food inflation. The authors call for a shift toward a developmental agenda that includes a basic income grant by 2025, wealth taxes to fund social services, and public investment in infrastructure and the energy transition.

• National Treasury is accused of pursuing a policy of 'hyper-austerity' that undermines socioeconomic rights and economic growth, often acting unilaterally to cut funding for programmes that are constitutional entitlements.
• The budget for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant has been significantly reduced from R44-billion in 2022/23 to R33-billion in the 2023 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, which the authors claim is driven by Treasury pressuring agencies to exclude deserving recipients.
• Social grants have failed to keep pace with the cost of living; specifically, the child support grant increased by only 4.2% in April 2023 while food inflation exceeded 14%, contributing to rising child mortality and stunting.
• The authors recommend several systemic changes, including the introduction of a basic income grant by 2025, taxing wealth to increase revenue for social programmes, and treating electricity as a public good requiring public investment within a just transition framework.

APA

organisations, I. F. E. J. A. 1. O. (2024). SONA 2024 provides a historic opportunity to set our country on a new course. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/https-www-dailymaverick-co-za-article-2024-02-06-sona-2024-provides-a-historic-opportunity-to-set-our-country-on-a-new-course-fbclidiwar2kz2vsc2zrcxt7uepl-qvexh4450qsq_ig6-w4xons2qkuhekcf3-de2w/

Chicago

organisations, Institute for Economic Justice and 15 other. SONA 2024 provides a historic opportunity to set our country on a new course. Institute for Economic Justice, 2024. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/https-www-dailymaverick-co-za-article-2024-02-06-sona-2024-provides-a-historic-opportunity-to-set-our-country-on-a-new-course-fbclidiwar2kz2vsc2zrcxt7uepl-qvexh4450qsq_ig6-w4xons2qkuhekcf3-de2w/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=organisations |first1=Institute for Economic Justice and 15 other |title=SONA 2024 provides a historic opportunity to set our country on a new course |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=6 February 2024 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/https-www-dailymaverick-co-za-article-2024-02-06-sona-2024-provides-a-historic-opportunity-to-set-our-country-on-a-new-course-fbclidiwar2kz2vsc2zrcxt7uepl-qvexh4450qsq_ig6-w4xons2qkuhekcf3-de2w/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{organisations2024sona, author = {organisations, Institute for Economic Justice and 15 other}, title = {{SONA 2024 provides a historic opportunity to set our country on a new course}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/https-www-dailymaverick-co-za-article-2024-02-06-sona-2024-provides-a-historic-opportunity-to-set-our-country-on-a-new-course-fbclidiwar2kz2vsc2zrcxt7uepl-qvexh4450qsq_ig6-w4xons2qkuhekcf3-de2w/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }