The Basic Needs Basket is a monthly survey of the cost of essential food and non- food items that comprise the items that a low income family in both rural and urban areas across the nine provinces of South Africa consider to be basic necessities.

With the estimated income for a single black South African at R2900, spread across a household of 3.9 people, the cost of living is proving to be unaffordable. The Basic Needs Basket is a monthly survey of the cost of essential food and non-food items that comprise the items that a low income family in both rural and urban areas across the nine provinces of South Africa deem necessary.

To gain further insight into the scope of a decent standard of living, the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) in partnership with the Association of Community-based Advice Offices of South Africa (ACAOSA) with support from the Church of Sweden, the Basic Needs Basket project was re-launched in 2014 to monitor, across the 9 provinces of South Africa in both rural and urban areas, frequently purchased items (food and non-food essential items) by lower income households on a monthly basis to ascertain people’s everyday basic needs.

In a democratic society that encourages a citizen-state relationship premised on public participation in the constitution, and as a way of enabling the division of power through a system of ‘checks and balances’ between government and its citizens, it is of paramount importance that citizens understand the nature of this relationship and their respective roles. This is what the SPII Budgeting for Change Project aims to achieve at its core: to capacitate ordinary citizens with the necessary knowledge to negotiate and perform their role in this relationship.

As the fifth Parliament draws to a close, the Budget Justice Coalition (BJC) has opted to develop a submission that provides an overview of the key budgeting trends of the past five years, as well as the impact of these on two elements of the social wage: health and education. The submission also focuses on Parliament’s oversight role in relation to the budget, looks at how budget decisions have been made and provides recommendations to support greater and wider participation by the public in the budget process.