Mduduzi Ntuli has had to dip into his savings, cut down on buying cereal and fruit juices for his family and stop driving his car to work to cope with the huge demand on his salary.
Ntuli, 50, a resident of Diepkloof Zone 6 in Soweto, said the rising cost of food and fuel have hit his pockets so hard that he has had to abandon his car and uses taxis to save some money to cover his growing grocery bill. He is one of many hard-pressed consumers who is battling soaring fuel price, and electricity tariff increase.
He lives with his mother, 75, and three children aged 20, 15 and 10. He said he “lives from hand to mouth and has no spare money” to spend in light of the high cost of living in SA.
Ntuli works as an operation inspector at Autopax in Brixton – a state-owned bus company, which is a subsidiary of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA. He earns about R11,000 and hasn’t had a salary increase in four years.
According to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity (PMBEJD) institution, the cost of the average household food basket increased by R354,52 (8,9%) from R4,001,17 in February 2021 to R4,355,70 in February 2022.
“Things are expensive. The fuel price increase makes things worse. When the fuel price goes up, the costs of food and transport also increase,” said Ntuli.
Ntuli said he spends roughly R9,000 a month on food, municipal rates and transport.
“I spend R1,200 on electricity and water, R3,500 on grocery, R1,000 on school fees and R3,000 on petrol. Since fuel went up in February and March, I decided to stop driving my car to work and started using taxis. Now I spent R1,600 on transport. It is still a lot,” he said.
What is left now goes towards buying more food items such as bread, milk, eggs and cooking oil, and into his savings.
Ntuli fears that he might be forced to dip again into his savings as he expects prices of goods and transport to rise again.
“This situation is really tough. I am thinking of doing an extra job like driving taxis to make more money,” said Ntuli.
Ntuli said he now prioritises his budget on electricity, bread, rice, vegetables, mielie meal, school transport and school fees.
According to the PMBEJD, the average cost of a food basket increased by R123,14 (5,6%) from R2,180,64 in February 2021 to R2,303,78 in February 2022.
* Lethabo also finds himself in the same predicament as Ntuli. He too stopped using his vehicle due to the high fuel increases in the past two months.
In February, the cost of 93 unleaded petrol increased to R20,14 before going up again to R21,60 in March.
Lethabo has joined a lift club with his colleagues and it costs him R200 a week. He lives in Kempton Park with his wife and child and works for a private airline. He has been earning the same salary since 2017.
He adds R1,000 to his wife’s R1,200 contribution for groceries and R3,000 on water and electricity. Thabo had to cut certain things to save costs.
“I had to pause my social life. I had to stop having braais and buying cold drinks. This saved R800, which I use to pay for the lift-club,” said Lethabo.
* Lethabo asked us not to use his real name.
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