Budget Justice Coalition Statement on the Unrest in South Africa

The Budget Justice Coalition (BJC) issued a statement on 20 July 2020 condemning the unrest in South Africa, attributing the violence to a combination of food and economic insecurity, state weakness, and political factionalism. The BJC argues that government austerity measures and the termination of COVID-19 relief grants exacerbated poverty and hunger, contributing to the instability.

• The BJC identifies the causes of the unrest as a mix of food and economic insecurity worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, state weaknesses, and factionalism within the ruling party. The unrest resulted in the loss of more than 200 lives, the destruction of over 50,000 businesses, and attacks on critical infrastructure, including the Shell and BP South African Petroleum Refineries (SAPREF) oil refinery.
• The BJC asserts that the security services' inability to stop the looting and violence was caused by the capture of the security cluster by former President Jacob Zuma, ineffective cadre deployment, and austerity-driven budget cuts to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Police.
• The BJC criticizes the government's COVID-19 relief efforts, stating that support primarily benefited established businesses, the employed via TERS, and the wealthy. The termination of the R350 COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant in April and the discontinuation of the caregiver allowance and social grant top-ups in October 2020 left approximately ten million people facing increased hunger and starvation.
• The BJC condemns the 2021 austerity budget, which included R265 billion in cuts to public services. Specific cuts included R50.3 billion from health care, R39 billion from the police budget, and R9 billion from public schools, the latter of which the BJC links to 750,000 learner dropouts since the pandemic began.
• To address the root causes of the unrest, the BJC demands several measures: the implementation of a Universal Basic Income Grant, the reinstatement of the COVID SRD grant and Caregiver Allowance (increased to R585 per month), the release of R11 billion for the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES), and the reversal of budget cuts in health, education, and social welfare.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2020). Budget Justice Coalition Statement on the Unrest in South Africa. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FINAL-Budget-Justice-Coalition-Statement-on-the-Unrest-in-South-Africa.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Budget Justice Coalition Statement on the Unrest in South Africa. 2020. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FINAL-Budget-Justice-Coalition-Statement-on-the-Unrest-in-South-Africa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Budget Justice Coalition Statement on the Unrest in South Africa |date=20 July 2020 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FINAL-Budget-Justice-Coalition-Statement-on-the-Unrest-in-South-Africa.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjustice2020budget, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Budget Justice Coalition Statement on the Unrest in South Africa}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2020}, month = jul, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FINAL-Budget-Justice-Coalition-Statement-on-the-Unrest-in-South-Africa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }