BUDGETING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DURING COVID-19

This fact sheet, published by the Institute for Economic Justice, SECTION27, and the Center for Economic and Social Rights, examines the South African government's obligation to use the 'maximum available resources' to protect social and economic rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. It contrasts the recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) with the government's actual fiscal responses, arguing that austerity measures and insufficient revenue mobilization have undermined the rights to healthcare, education, and social security.

• The South African government is obligated under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and its own Constitution to mobilize the maximum available resources for the progressive realization of social and economic rights. This obligation requires the state to generate resources through equitable taxation and borrowing, allocate them to rights-realizing programs, and utilize them efficiently while curbing corruption.
• The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) found that South Africa's economic development model is insufficiently inclusive and that the government has failed to raise domestic resources equitably. Specific failures include a lack of annual net wealth taxes, corporate income tax rates that have fallen from 50% in 1990 to 28% in 2018, and a 2018 VAT increase from 14% to 15% that reduced disposable income for low-income households.
• Austerity measures have led to significant budget cuts in public services, which the document argues prioritizes fiscal targets over social rights. Since 2016, average spending on social and economic programs has lagged behind population and GDP growth. In the June 2020 Supplementary Budget, the government reportedly cut R109 billion from social programs to fund pandemic expenses, allocating only R36 billion in new money despite an initial R500 billion relief package announcement.
• The public healthcare system suffers from chronic underfunding and extreme inequality. In 2018, there was one public-sector doctor for every 2,457 people without medical aid, compared to one private-sector doctor for every 429 to 571 patients. While the government provided R2.9 billion in new funding for COVID-19, the document states at least R20 billion is required to improve facilities.
• Education funding has declined in real terms, falling from R20,612 per learner in 2009/10 to R19,917 in 2018/19. This underfunding has left over 3,500 schools without water, security, or safe sanitation. During the pandemic, R1.7 billion was cut from school infrastructure grants and R4.4 billion was reallocated from these grants to other COVID-19 needs.
• Social security is insufficient to prevent poverty, with 55.5% of the population living below the official national upper bound poverty line as of 2015. The COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant of R350 per month is below the poverty line of R1,227.51. Additionally, the National School Nutrition Programme's closure during lockdown affected 9 million children.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2020). BUDGETING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DURING COVID-19. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Available-Resources-COVID19_2.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. BUDGETING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DURING COVID-19. 2020. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Available-Resources-COVID19_2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=BUDGETING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DURING COVID-19 |date=2020 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Available-Resources-COVID19_2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2020budgeting, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{BUDGETING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DURING COVID-19}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2020}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Available-Resources-COVID19_2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }