If South Africa’s government really cares about hunger and malnutrition it will ensure that VAT-free chicken is included in next year’s budget.
This is the call from FairPlay founder, Fraincois Baird, who said although many households were food insecure and millions went hungry, the government had, since 2018, refused to remove the 15% VAT from chicken portions most consumed by low-income households.
“The cost of that obduracy can be measured by the increase in poverty, hunger and malnutrition over those seven years,” said Baird.
There were 6.1 million unemployed people in 2018 and by 2025 this rose to 8.4 million, according to Statistics South Africa.
“For a food-producing country, South Africa has a shamefully high rate of child stunting, which is caused by malnutrition. In 2018, according to the University of Cape Town, 27% of children under the age of five were stunted,” said Baird.
“By 2024, according to the Human Sciences Research Council, this had risen to 28.8%. Because of a lack of nutritious food, well over a quarter of South Africa’s children are handicapped, physically and often mentally, for the rest of their lives.”
The HSRC survey revealed a deepening malnutrition crisis, with more than 60% of households suffering some level of food insecurity and more than 40% unable to afford nutritious items. As a result, 20 million people did not have enough to eat.
“This is the worsening background against which the government has refused, year by year, to remove VAT from chicken, which is an essential part of the diet of poor people, and provides the vitamins and minerals that young children need,” Baird said.
“Every year since 2018, poor households have had to pay an extra 15% for the popular packs of chicken portions and as prices went up, they bought less or switched to less nutritious but cheaper foods.
“The government nearly relented last year, when it considered removing VAT from chicken offal to help relieve the impact of a proposed VAT increase. But, when the VAT idea was dropped, the VAT-free proposal vanished,” said Baird.
The South African poultry industry has renewed its application for VAT-free offal, together with the removal of VAT from chicken portions, most of which are bought by poor people.
The application is a timely reminder that the festive season won’t be festive for most South African households.
Food insecurity in poor households is increasing. The government should stop dithering and act to help relieve South Africa’s crisis of malnutrition.
