On the eve of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), a movement of unemployed young women from informal settlements and other disadvantaged communities has written to the minister, demanding that the budget prioritise job creation and social protection for South Africa’s most vulnerable.
The group, known as Young Women for Life, represents thousands of unemployed young women who face daily struggles in conditions of deep poverty and exclusion. In their statement, they call on the government to use the MTBPS — to be tabled in Parliament on 11 November 2021 — to deliver tangible support and opportunities to those who need them most.
“As unemployed young women living in informal settlements and other disadvantaged communities, we appeal to the Finance Minister to ensure that this budget speaks directly to us,” the statement reads. “We want a budget that creates jobs and strengthens social protection, not one that deepens our marginalisation.”
The movement’s expectations for the MTBPS are clear and specific, focusing on three critical areas: extending social protection, creating pathways into employment, and ending austerity measures that hurt the poor.
1. Extend and Expand the R350 Covid-19 Relief Grant
At the top of their list is a call for the government to extend the Covid-19 Special Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant beyond March 2022. For many young women in informal settlements, the R350 monthly grant has been a lifeline — often the only source of income in households hit hard by unemployment and the pandemic’s economic fallout.
The movement also rejects the government’s reported plan to replace the SRD grant with a single grant per household, warning that such a move would exclude thousands of unemployed youth and young adults from desperately needed support.
“Replacing the individual grant with a household grant would leave many young women with nothing,” the statement says. “In households where several people are unemployed, one grant is not enough. Social protection must reach individuals, not just households.”
2. Create Internship Opportunities for Young Women
Young Women for Life is also calling for bold action on job creation. They propose that all state-owned enterprises, government departments, and municipalities be required to develop annual internship plans for unemployed youth — with at least 60% of those opportunities reserved for young women.
Such a measure, they argue, would not only provide work experience but also help bridge the gender gap in employment. Many young women, especially those in townships and informal settlements, face significant barriers to entering the labour market, from limited networks and skills to persistent gender discrimination.
“We are not asking for charity — we are asking for opportunity,” the group writes. “Internship programmes must be mandatory, and they must prioritise young women. That is how we begin to dismantle structural inequality.”
3. End Austerity That Hurts the Poor
The movement is also calling on the Treasury to end what it describes as “excessive austerity” — budget cuts that reduce funding to departments providing essential public services such as education, health, sanitation, water, policing, and housing. These services, they argue, are vital for lifting people out of poverty and should not be sacrificed in the name of fiscal consolidation.
Instead, the group urges government to cut spending at the top, targeting “extravagant packages” for underperforming executives at state-owned enterprises, Cabinet ministers, and mayors.
“It is unacceptable that those responsible for failing institutions continue to enjoy luxury while poor people bear the brunt of budget cuts,” the statement says. “The government must stop balancing the books on the backs of the poor.”
