Inflation impacting quality of life, mental health in SA
The stubbornly high inflation rate is having a major impact on the quality of life and mental health of South Africans.
That's the belief of the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group.
Stats SA recently revealed that the annual consumer inflation came in at 7% in February, up from 6.9% the previous month.
One of the main drivers was food prices, which shot up by 13.6 percent.
READ: Consumer inflation hits four-month high
The organisation's Mervyn Abrahams says with other rising costs, including for electricity, transport and interest rates, they're worried ordinary South Africans, especially those relying on grants, won't be able to cope.
"R350 grant - all you can do with that is about buy a loaf of bread a day, that really all I can get from that grant. The child support grant is currently R480. We know, according to research that it costs about R874 to feed a child a proper and nutritious meal a month.
"This means that the child support grant is 28% below the food poverty line, which is R663 but also about 45% below what it actually costs to feed a child a proper and nutritious meal."
