{"id":503725,"date":"2021-07-06T14:51:36","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T12:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=503725"},"modified":"2021-07-06T19:34:52","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T17:34:52","slug":"south-africa-has-run-into-a-big-problem-and-its-not-sustainable-warns-capitec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/banking\/503725\/south-africa-has-run-into-a-big-problem-and-its-not-sustainable-warns-capitec\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa has run into a big problem – and it’s not sustainable, warns Capitec"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Africa’s employment and social grants numbers have effectively reversed over the last 20 years – and this is now one of the biggest risks for the country, says Nkosana Mashiya, executive of Risk Management at Capitec.<\/p>\n

Mashiya said that this forms part of a broader problem with South Africa’s fiscal position and the government\u2019s public finances.<\/p>\n

“This (position) has been dwindling over time. But think about it. Today, 18 million people are on social grants, with 14 million taxpayers,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Twenty years ago, this was reversed, with just 2.5 million people on social grants, and 12 million formally employed. The situation now is unsustainable.”<\/p>\n

Data published at the start of 2021<\/a> <\/strong>shows that the number of South Africans on social grants has steadily increased since 1996.<\/p>\n

It shows that around 18.2 million people now collect some form of social grants in South Africa.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Financial year<\/th>\nDaily stats as of 31 March<\/th>\nPopulation estimates (% share)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1996\/97<\/td>\n3 018 909<\/td>\n41 226 700 (7%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1997\/98<\/td>\n2 832 156<\/td>\n42 130 500 (7%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1998\/99<\/td>\n2 923 718<\/td>\n43 054 306 (7%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1999\/00<\/td>\n3 034 381<\/td>\n43 685 699 (7%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2000\/01<\/td>\n3 864 463<\/td>\n44 560 644 (9%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2001\/02<\/td>\n4 033 384<\/td>\n45 454 211 (9%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2002\/03<\/td>\n4 969 666<\/td>\n46 429 823 (11%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2003\/04<\/td>\n6 494 115<\/td>\n46 586 607 (14%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2004\/05<\/td>\n9 421 654<\/td>\n46 888 200 (20%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2005\/06<\/td>\n10 974 076<\/td>\n47 390 900 (23%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2006\/07<\/td>\n12 015 059<\/td>\n47 850 700 (25%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2007\/08<\/td>\n12 423 739<\/td>\n48 687 000 (26%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2008\/09<\/td>\n13 072 173<\/td>\n49 320 500 (27%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2009\/10<\/td>\n14 057 365<\/td>\n49 991 300 (28%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2010\/11<\/td>\n14 935 832<\/td>\n50 586 757 (30%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2011\/12<\/td>\n15 407 194<\/td>\n50 586 757 (30%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2012\/13<\/td>\n16 106 110<\/td>\n52 982 000 (30%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2013\/14<\/td>\n15 932 473<\/td>\n54 002 000 (30%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2014\/15<\/td>\n16 642 643<\/td>\n54 956 900 (30%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2015\/16<\/td>\n16 991 634<\/td>\n55 908 900 (30%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2016\/17<\/td>\n17 200 525<\/td>\n56 521 900 (30%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2017\/18<\/td>\n17 509 995<\/td>\n57 725 600 (30%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2018\/19<\/td>\n17 811 745<\/td>\n58 775 022 (30%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2019\/20<\/td>\n18 290 592<\/td>\n59 622 350 (31%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

By comparison, the Q1 Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) published at the end of June shows that South Africa has continued to lose jobs – and by extension taxpayers.<\/p>\n

The year-on-year figures from the\u00a0Quarterly Employment Statistics survey<\/a><\/strong>, released by Stats SA show that formal sector jobs decreased by\u00a0552,000<\/strong>\u00a0in the first quarter.<\/p>\n

The total number of people employed in the non-agricultural sector is now estimated to be around 9.64 million.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Other risks\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other risks that Mashiya says South Africa urgently needs to address include:<\/p>\n