1996 Budget: We asked several people how they live now, and how this week’s Budget would affect them in the year to come
The teacher
Belinda Wort, 29, a Mitchells Plain high- school teacher for nine years, lives barricaded in a comfortable house with a sparkling pool. Her husband, Logan, is a personnel officer at the University of the Western Cape and they have two children.
“Both of us come from a working-class background and we feel that now that we’ve reached middle-class success, we’re being punished by the government,” said Mr Wort.
“A few years back R5 000 a month seemed like a lot of money, but now that I get taxed 45%, I seem to have less money to spend. It’s not fair. Because we pay medical aid, own a car and pay school fees, we don’t really use government facilities but we pay for them anyway.”
Belinda earns R4 500 a month, of which R1 100 is deducted in tax. She used to pay higher taxes, but benefitted last year when the government equalised married women’s taxes with mens’.
“The bond of R2 100 a month and the car payments of R980 a month are some of the major expenses off Logan’s salary, so mine is used for the other monthly expenses,” said Mrs Wort. “Once we’ve paid for everything, we’re left with about R120 a month. The highlight of our social life is movies on Tuesday nights when it’s cheaper. I can’t remember when last we’ve eaten out.
“We’ve been forced to cancel our credit because we couldn’t cope with the payments. We now have the additional expense of school payments for our children. If Mitchells Plain schools had proper facilities, we’d send them to school here. But we’ve been forced to enrol them at schools outside of the area because we need facilities like aftercare.
“We’ve managed to cut down on our grocery bill to about R700 a month. I feel we’re getting nothing from the government for our taxes. Almost everything we want, we have to get outside of Mitchells Plain. There aren’t even parks where our children can play — we have to drive to Wynberg or Muizenberg for that.
“At school I can see that we get nothing from the government. There have been no improvements in the childrens’ lives or in the building. I have 45 children in my class but only 39 desks. The government can’t even spend money on desks. “I think the new government should spend more on providing free education and fighting crime. When I’m at home with my children I feel very unsafe and we have to stay locked up inside all the time. I know if something happens it’s no use calling the police, they just won’t come. The government should also get rid of the criminal element in the taxi industry and improve buses and trains so they’re safe to use.
“Logan and I would like to do more for our extended family, like sending one of the children to high school, but it seems the more we earn the less we have.”
* The Budget addressed the problem of bracket creep, raising the top tax threshold to R100 000, which will ease the burden on the Worts considerably. Education spending is to increase. Plus, with VAT unchanged, their monthly costs will not change dramatically. Complaints about delivery are familiar; Chris Liebenberg was at pains to point out on Wednesday that the government is committed to reform and implementing changes.
The nurse
Fraulein van der Merwe, 36, is a staff nurse at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town. She is divorced and has two children.
“To tell the truth I don’t know why I carry on working here. It’s 18 years since I started. I nurse people and give counselling to HIV patients. I’m fluent in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa, so I do interpreting. It’s not part of my job and I don’t get extra money for it, but how does a doctor communicate with the patient otherwise? Especially here — this is a teaching hospital, with foreign doctors.
“I earn about R2 000 a month. They deduct R780 towards my housing bond of R1 475, medical aid is R280, I pay R150 for insurance for the kids’ education and R95 for life insurance. I take home about R495. Don’t ask me how I cope. I recently stopped the medical aid because there’s a big hole in my pocket. My parents help me sometimes with groceries.
“My husband disappeared one day when I was on night-duty. No fights, nothing. My youngest child was two. Since then, I’ve raised them alone — they’re 11 and 12 now. It was hard at first. There’s no government subsidy for child-care. The creche cost R120 a child. These days I pay for extra classes for them. I don’t mind — it means when I come home from work they’re still at school. Our area is full of gangsters, violence and shooting — I don’t want them on the streets.
“I don’t know where their father is: I spent a lot of money having him traced to get divorced.
“I leave home at 6.25am and come to work by train. I’m risking my life; I’ve already been mugged twice. It’s safer to go by taxi but I can’t afford it. It costs R150 a month; the train’s only R33 as I go third-class. If only they could give nurses a travel allowance.
“I was on holiday when the nurses went on strike last year, but I supported them. It’s so tense around here. Everyone’s complaining. I can cope with family help, but I don’t know how some of the others manage. We’re really looking forward to getting more money. The five percent we got last year went nowhere, with the cost of everything going up.”
l Nurses salaries will increase by a minimum of 7,5%, which should help to ease Van der Merwe’s load. Single mothers are particularly hard-hit; the Budget speech did not lay out any specific changes in welfare spending. The police have been allocated more money, which should go some way towards alleviating crime.
The squatter
Paulina Mlangeni, 63, pensioner, lives in a squatter camp in Boksburg.
“I want a house. I am so old now and I still don’t have a proper place to stay. I have been living in this squatter camp for the last two years and in the winter, here in Johannesburg, it gets very cold. There is no electricity and only one tap in this place which we all use.
“We don’t have to worry about rent but we do pay R10 a month for the water. The R410 that I get from my pension is not enough, but it is better than the R370 we were getting last year.
“At the end of the month I don’t have a penny left. I have to look after my four grandchildren who stay with me. Their parents are not working. And the children need things as they grow up. Now and again I buy myself a dosh of snuff to keep me going.
“But what really takes up a lot of money is paraffin. The paraffin gets used very quickly and I have to keep buying more. I mainly cook vegetables because meat is very expensive.
“There are many things that I would like to have but first the government must give us houses. If the government can increase my pension this year I would be happy. At the moment I cannot buy anything new because it will get stolen. If I do buy something new I would have to stay at home all the time to watch that the tsotsis do not steal it.
“I think that Mandela must spend more money on jobs. If these criminals have jobs then they will not have any time to get up to mischief. They must stop talking about what they going to do and start doing it.”
l Social welfare has been targeted for greater spending, so Mlangeni’s pension should increase. She will hopefully see, too, some improvements on services if pledges to push RDP delivery come to fruition. VAT exemptions were not extended to paraffin, however, and snuff falls under the higher excise tax rates, so her one indulgence will be hit.
The miner
Mbuyiseli Hibana, 31, a miner at Western Deep Level, lives in a hostel. He is married with two children.
“The worst thing is that at the end of the month I really don’t have enough money to save. I get R900 and half of that I send to my family in the Eastern Cape. They also take about R150 off every month for tax.
“I don’t only support my two sons and my wife but also my brothers and sisters, who are all unemployed. I miss my family very much but I have to work away from them so that I can send money to them.
“This month I only sent them R400. But most
of the time I send them about R600. This month I had to pay the furniture shop R200 for a TV which I bought. Most of the time I end up with only R100 for myself.
“I am lucky that I don’t smoke because my friends complain that cigarettes are going up all the time. The only thing that I spend my money on is beer because I must have a little bit of pleasure.
“It helps that we do not have to pay to live in the hostel. But I think that the bosses do take money off our salaries at the end of the month for rent, food and transport. They must really try to improve the food at the mine, but I would rather eat that food instead of going to the shops because everything in the shops is so expensive.
“There are many things that I would like to buy for myself and my family but I feel that I will never be able to. At the moment I have been working in the mines for nine years and I have not been able to buy any furniture.
“I feel that I am not getting anywhere. I wish that I could get paid more every month. If I had more money maybe I could think about buying a house. It is very important that the government in the coming year spends more money on building houses. I think that people will stop stealing from other people if they know that they have something that belongs to them.
“We at the mines feel that we are being forgotten. We want to know what will the government do to improve the situation in the mines.”
* The mining industry is undergoing a particularly difficult phase at present, with the gold price stagnant and exports weakening. Hostel workers will benefit, however, from increased government spending on upgrading. Hibana doesn’t smoke, so he won’t face the one indirect tax that was raised in the Budget, but his beer bill will rise.
The police constable
Maidi Mosipi, 26, a police constable in Yeoville, Johannesburg, married and has one child.
“The government really needs to improve police salaries. The work that we do is very hard and most of the time the people do not appreciate us. At the moment I get R1 500 a month. Out of this money I support my daughter and my younger brothers and sisters who are all still at school. I send my family R200 every month.
“I am lucky that my husband earns a good salary. We have bought a flat and are slowly paying off our bond. Out of his salary of R4 500 he pays the bond, which is R1 100. We also pay a monthly levy of R380 which includes lights and water. This, of course, is very high.
“I pay for the video machine, room divider and television which comes up to R450 every month. Although we are doing okay we are starting to find it difficult. We spend R400 on food but the prices seem to be increasing. I don’t drink or smoke which means that I spend quite a bit on movies and clothes.
“I can’t afford a new outfit every month. I wanted to have another baby but we decided that we will wait and see what happens in the future. We could perhaps afford another one but that is all. We really cannot cope with more than two children. It is just too expensive.
“I really cannot see any difference since the RDP [Reconstruction and Development Programme] has started. The RDP has not done a thing for us. They keep talking about an increase in our salaries but it seems that we are getting paid less than we were.”
l Increases in public sector pay were announced the day before the Budget, so Mosipi’s lot will improve. With VAT unchanged, and inflation set to fall further, her basic outlays should stay reasonably stable. The finance minister he promises swift action as regards the RDP.
The Businessman
Konrad Heinrich Donges, 51, moved to South Africa 16 years ago from West Germany and is the owner of a jewellery shop.
“Unfortunately I cannot say how much I earn. For that I would have to contact my auditors. I really am not sure how much tax I pay either. But as far as I can see the government really needs to work on creating more jobs. I cannot see any physical changes since the RDP [Reconstruction and Development Programme] has been implemented.
“I have heard about the development programmes and the restructuring of social services but I have personally not seen anything different. But then really I don’t know much about that.
“I am sure that the government is spending quite a bit on the upliftment of people in the country. Apart from the usual rate of inflation I am quite happy with the economic situation in the country. I have two children in high school and things are fine. There haven’t been any outrageous increases in the past year.
“As a businessman, I hope that the the new Budget caters for a more balanced distribution as regards creating employement. That is probably the most important thing at the moment. If the government does this it will lead to a decrease in crime. If people have a job, any job that gives them a decent living then they will not hijack or mug people.”
l Personal income tax now kicks in at a higher level of earnings. Exchange controls have not yet been lifted, but may be soon. Governement is attempting to address job creation — but has yet to come up with a concrete plan.