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E4 000 FOR BASIC FOOD COMMODITIES

31/01/2021 23:07:00 BY SIBONGILE SUKATI

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MBABANE – Tough times are yet to come for emaSwati with regard to the food affordability.

This is because the South African January 2021 Household Affordability Index shows that a food basket for the average person now costs about E4 051. The cost has increased drastically and shows that basic food items like sugar beans, rice, flour and bread have seen price hikes of between 31 per cent and 68 per cent. It is common cause that some emaSwati purchase basic food commodities like mealie-meal in South Africa because it is believed to be relatively cheaper in the neighbouring country. The new report is also reflective on Eswatini because most of the big supermarkets in neighbouring SA are the same as those in the country. They include the likes of Pick n Pay, Shoprite and Spar.

Elderly

This means that the elderly people who receive a monthly grant of E500 from government, can only afford very few items from the recommended household monthly budget for an average family of five.

According to a report carried by the eNCA news in South Africa, Economic Justice and Dignity Group programme director Mervyn Abrahams said: “A basket of 43 basic foods has now breached the level of a national minimum wage and we know that 60 per cent of South Africans earn at that level because the national minimum wage would have been R3 321. So, food is much higher.”

In Eswatini, the least earners are from the textile industry who earn slightly less than E2 000 per month. The index tracked food price data from 44 supermarkets and 30 butcheries between September last year and January this year in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg and Springbok. The basic food items are costing more and according to the report, families may now be spending 30 per cent more on food compared to before the country went into the COVID-19 lockdown. The organisation’s research shows the price of a basket of basic food items will now cost at least E265 more than before the lockdown.

Researcher Julie Smith, said a basket containing these and other basic foods had become unaffordable for workers earning a national minimum wage, In Eswatini, there is currently no minimum wage while unions have proposed a basic minimum wage, of E3 500.

This in essence means that many emaSwati will not be able to afford food, for example, those who have been left jobless by the closure of the liquor establishments and the hospitality industry. The E700 which was given by government as relief to over 100 000 emaSwati also means that the money is not enough to cover all the basic food items.

Meanwhile, Economist Thembinkosi Dube, said this was a very unfortunate situation and not a favourable one for consumers. Dube said emaSwati needed to change the way they did things and look at ways of improving food security. “We should consider having a garden and planting crops to reduce buying from retail shops,” said Dube.

The economist said it was true that some agricultural input prices had also risen, which was what led to some of the hikes in commodities.

“EmaSwati should think of using methods that will cut down the costs for example, using kraal manure as opposed to fertiliser,” said Dube. He said as a country, it was important to look into the agricultural sector by growing food and importing less as a macro scale. He said at a micro scale of household level there was a need to change certain things, such as growing their own crops. The report states that since most people were on lockdown and confined to their homes, households were having to buy more food, which also ran out quicker. The research from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PEJDG) showed that food prices rose by 17 per cent over the course of 2020, spiking much higher than inflation for the year. It was stated that worryingly, the price hikes were being driven by a number of staple and ‘core’ foods in the basket. These are food items which are purchased first by most families in South Africa, which take priority over more ‘luxury’ items.

Here, items like sugar beans, rice, bread and flour have seen price hikes between 31 per cent and 68 per cent while fresh fruit and vegetables, which are necessary for a nutritionally complete diet, have also seen major price increases.

At E4 000, the food basket is far higher than what a single-income family on minimum wage. Some low income earners in Eswatini include domestic workers who earn as little as E800 in some instances.

Statistics

Meanwhile, statistics from the local World Food Programme (wfp) stated that there was about 773.5 metric tonnes of food assistance distributed. It was further reported that US$ 4.9 million (approximately E74.3 million cash-based transfers) were made between January and December 2020.

It was further reported that the net funding requirements expected to last till about June 2021 were in the region of E62.8 million.

The WFP further reported that 182 311 people were assisted in December 2020 and that these included provision of social safety nets for 55 000 orphans and vulnerable children under years ears at the 1 700 neighbourhood care points (NCPs) in Eswatini through access to food and basic social services. The WFP also works with government in implementing a sustainable, nutrition-sensitive, shock-responsive national school meals programme. The Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) project started in September 2019, targeting 50 schools and 24 392 pupils. WFP works with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to empower local smallholder farmers to provide schoolchildren with food that is safe, diverse, nutritious and local.