Tag: Cost of living

  • Ghana ranked 6th Afican country with highest cost of living

    Ghana ranked 6th Afican country with highest cost of living

    Ghana is ranked 6th in Africa out of 16 countries for the highest Cost of Living and Rent Index, with a score of 21.0 points, according to Numbeo.

    The country also holds 6th place in the Groceries Index, scoring 33.9 points.

    Cameroon tops the continent with the highest Cost of Living and Rent Index, scoring 27.5, followed by Nigeria in 2nd place with 27.1.

    Zimbabwe and Mauritius share 3rd place with a score of 24.1, while South Africa is 5th.

    In terms of local purchasing power, South Africa leads with a score of 102.8, followed by Botswana in 2nd place with 64.4.

    Mauritius and Libya occupy the 3rd and 4th positions with scores of 43.2 and 42.0, respectively.

    Ghana ranks 12th among the 16 African countries for purchasing power.

    Purchasing power is a key indicator of a country’s economic health and stability. A low purchasing power often points to economic difficulties, whereas a high purchasing power suggests strong consumer spending and potential growth in industries and businesses.

    COUNTRYCOST OF LIVING PLUS RENT INDEXGROCERIES INDEXPURCHASING POWER
    Cameroon27.534.610.5
    Nigeria27.037.511.1
    Zimbabwe24.135.526.1
    Mauritius24.140.743.2
    South Africa23.529.7102.8
    Ghana21.033.918.4
    Kenya19.831.034.2
  • Ghana ranked as third country with highest cost of living in West Africa – Numbeo Data

    Ghana ranked as third country with highest cost of living in West Africa – Numbeo Data

    A latest data from Numbeo has ranked Ghana as the third country in West Africa with the highest cost of living.

    Additionally, it holds the 20th position among 24 African countries with the lowest cost of living overall.

    Numbeo’s ranking is determined by factors such as the Rent Index, Groceries Index, Restaurant Purchase Index, and Local Purchasing Power Index. Ghana’s overall Cost of Living Index stands at 26.0, contributing to its placement as the third highest in West Africa.

    This ranking is attributed to various factors, including the slowdown in inflation and the depreciation of the cedi throughout 2023.

    Regarding specific indicators, Ghana’s scores are as follows:

    Rent Index: 11.0.

    Cost of Living Plus Rent Index: 18.8

    Groceries Index: 27.2

    Restaurant Purchase Index: 22.9

    Local Purchasing Power Index: 14.8

    For the highest cost of living among other African countries, Cote d’Ivoire ranked first in Africa and West Africa with a Cost-of-Living Index of 44.7.

    Senegal ranked second with an index of 44.0.

    Ethiopia was 3rd with a score of 43.1, while Mozambique and Mauritius were 4th and 5th with scores of 43.0 and 39.8 respectively.

  • Britain is angry and divided, and the Tories don’t get it

    Britain is angry and divided, and the Tories don’t get it

    People need food. Instead, they’re being fed nationalism by an authoritarian government that misreads the public’s mood.

    There are reasons why half a million people are on strike in Britain. The reasons are low wages, poor working conditions, poverty and stress.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, public sector workers, particularly health service and local government, worked incredibly hard in often very difficult conditions in order to deliver a health service, and were applauded by everybody.

    They are now being told: “We can’t afford to pay you properly. We’re going to continue underfunding all those services. And you are now officially an enemy of what the government is trying to achieve.”

    Well, people do not like that. And people are very angry about that.

    It is an unhappy, unsettled and divided country being fed a diet of excessive nationalism and excessive patriotism. This needs fixing as a society — not by individual endeavours and sharp elbows.

    You go to people’s homes, and there is hardly any food in the house. They cannot afford to keep the lights on; cannot afford to heat the house. Children go to school hungry. There is a real issue of injustice and inequality. There is no shortage of food in the country. There is a shortage of the ability of public services to ensure that people can survive. And it all basically comes down to the level of wages that we have.

    We are obsessed, as this government is, with the privatisation of public services, with disempowerment of working-class communities and the promotion of the individual at the expense of the collective. They have tried to turn Britain into an individualistic society rather than the post-war consensus, which was much more of a communal society.

    Parliament has passed a bill that gives the government the power to enforce people to go to work, even though they are exercising the rights that they have to take industrial action. That to me is a threat to the rights and liberties of people.

    The government has completely misjudged the public mood and many people who themselves are either unemployed or not in a union feel that the union leaderships are acting for them.

    The government’s retreat into authoritarian legislation rather than negotiation is one of the big problems.

    DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana

  • UK only major economy to shrink in 2023 – IMF

    UK only major economy to shrink in 2023 – IMF

    International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said the UK economy will contract and perform worse than other advanced economies as household costs of living continue to rise.

    The economy will shrink by 0.6% in 2023, not slightly grow as previously predicted, according to the IMF.

    The IMF did add, however, that it believes the UK economy is now “on the right track” as a result of the Autumn Statement.

    The UK outperformed many predictions last year, according to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

    But shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the figures showed the UK “lagging behind our peers.”

    In its World Economic Outlook update, the IMF, which works to stabilize economic growth, said the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would shrink rather than grow by 0.3% this year.

    GDP is a measure for how well, or badly, an economy is doing and in a growing economy, each quarterly GDP figure will be slightly bigger than the quarter before.

    If a country’s GDP falls for two quarters in a row, it means it is in recession and its economy is doing badly. Typically, this means companies make less money and the number of unemployed people rises.

    The IMF predicted the UK would be the only country—across the world’s advanced and emerging economies—to suffer a year of declining GDP. Even sanctions-hit Russia is now forecast to grow this year.

    The IMF said its new forecast reflected the UK’s high energy prices and financial conditions, such as high inflation.

    IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told the BBC that for 2022, the UK had had “fairly robust” growth at 4.1%, which he said was “one of the strongest growth numbers in Europe”.

    “But it is true that we are forecasting a sharp slowdown in 2023, with growth that would turn even negative for the year.”

    He said the revision reflected the “fact that we have a very challenging environment in the United Kingdom”, which he said was caused by high energy prices as well as “high dependence on liquid natural gas”.

    Woman by radiator
    Image caption, High energy prices are driving up UK inflation

    The Bank of England has put up interest rates nine times since December 2021 in an attempt to reduce inflation – the rate at which prices rise. Mr Gourinchas said these rate rises fed “quickly into mortgages, because a lot of mortgages are adjustable rates”.

    “So a lot of homeowners with mortgages are seeing an increase in their mortgage payments.”

    Mr Gourinchas said another factor in the UK’s forecast was that employment was still below pre-pandemic levels.

    He said the plans outlined by the Treasury in the months since the Autumn Statement showed the UK was “certainly trying to carefully navigate these different challenges and we think that they are on the right track”.

    And the IMF said in 2024 it expected the UK economy to grow by 0.9%, up from a previous forecast of 0.6%.

    ‘Heading for recession’

    Sophie Lund Yates, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, told the BBC’s Today programme the UK was not the only major economy struggling and there was a chance it could “squeak out a little more positivity” than the IMF had predicted.

    “The Bank of England’s own predictions are slightly brighter than [the IMF’s’ have been],” she added.

    “But overall, we are heading for recession, and the big question is how deep that’s going to be.”

    Against the backdrop of growing expectations of a milder recession across the world, the IMF’s forecasts for the UK stand out, downgraded by just under a full percentage point since the autumn, and now expected to shrink by 0.6% this year.

    The IMF attributes this to rapid interest rate rises, tax rises, higher borrowing costs for businesses, and still high domestic energy prices. The fund said the UK was having to navigate a very complex environment, and that since the Autumn Statement, British policy was now “on the right track.”

    But if over the coming year this forecast proves to be correct, it raises questions as to why the UK will have missed out on a better global economic backdrop. The UK is now the only shrinking economy out of 15 published in this report.

    The Bank of England will publish its new forecast for the UK economy later this week, alongside an expected further rise in interest rates.

    The IMF’s bleak picture for the UK comes after Mr Hunt warned it was “unlikely” that there would be room for any “significant” tax cuts in the spring budget.

    The chancellor, who has been under pressure from some in his party to cut taxes to stimulate the economy, has said that lowering inflation “is the best tax cut right now”.

    Inflation hit 10.5% in the 12 months to December, close to a 40-year high.

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to halve inflation by the end of the year, although some economists have said price rises will slow without government policies, due to commodity prices and shipping costs decreasing.

    Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, has also said inflation is likely to fall rapidly this year but has warned a UK recession is still on the cards.

    While the IMF predicts the UK economy will contract, it forecasts economic growth of 1.4% in the US, 0.1% in Germany and 0.7% in France.

    Mr Hunt said the IMF’s figures “confirm we are not immune to the pressures hitting nearly all advanced economies”.

    “Short-term challenges should not obscure our long-term prospects – the UK outperformed many forecasts last year, and if we stick to our plan to halve inflation, the UK is still predicted to grow faster than Germany and Japan over the coming years,” he added.

    Economic forecasters are not always 100% right when it comes to predicting the future. The IMF has said its forecasts for growth the following year in most advanced economies like the UK’s have more often than not been within about 1.5 percentage points of what actually happens.

    The IMF said the trend of central banks putting up interest rates to try to curb inflation and the war in Ukraine continued to “weigh on economic activity” across the world.

    But it said China’s reopening its economy from Covid restrictions “paved the way for a faster-than-expected recovery” globally.

    Overall, the IMF estimated global inflation had passed its peak and would fall from 8.8% last year to 6.6% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024.

  • Doctors plan to leave Nigeria due to cost of living crisis

    Doctors plan to leave Nigeria due to cost of living crisis

    Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, is in the process of introducing new banknotes for the first time in more than 20 years. The move is an attempt to reignite confidence in the currency, the naira, which is under severe pressure. With inflation at more than 20%, people are struggling to cope with the rising cost of living. It is leading to the largest exodus of young professionals in years.

    “Imagine going to the grocery store one day, and everything has tripled in price? How do you even cope? You have a family at home. What do you cut out of the budget?” Oroma Cookey Gam tells me by Zoom, her face incredulous.

    The fashion designer left Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, with her young family a year ago for the UK capital, London. Her husband and business partner Osione, an artist, was granted a Global Talent visa, which enables leaders in academia, arts and culture, as well as digital technology to work in the UK.

    She says it had become too expensive to raise their young family in Lagos. “Our money was buying us less and less. We weren’t able to pay our bills, we weren’t able to do normal things that we were doing.”

    Oroma studied law at the UK’s University of Northumbria and moved back to Nigeria almost 20 years ago, keen to use her degree to help develop her country. Along with Osione, she eventually set up This Is Us, a sustainable fashion and lifestyle brand that uses local materials and artisans, including cotton grown and dyed in northern Nigeria.

    Initially, the cost of living crisis wasn’t impacting them.

    “Because we are 100% sourced in Nigeria, things were not as terrible for us as it was for other people,” Oroma says. “So when everyone was increasing their prices, we skipped a couple of increases because we could manage.”

    Oroma Cookey Gam
    Image caption,Oroma Cookey Gam moved to London because of the rising cost of living in Nigeria

    But eventually their Nigerian customer base was finding it harder to afford non-essential items like clothing – particularly when food accounts for 63% of their spending. This means when the price of food goes up, people have less disposable income.

    Oroma says it is particularly bad for young Nigerians. “Speaking to my mum, one thing that I realised is that when they were younger, things were a lot easier for them. They could afford to buy houses, cars.

    “I always felt like: ‘What is going on with me?’ I’m failing because I can’t do all the things my mum was doing, but I realised that the country is not working for me.”

    She is not the only one to feel this way. Nigeria is experiencing its worst wave of emigration in years. Reliable statistics are hard to find, but the number of Nigerians granted UK work visas has quadrupled since 2019. And 700% more visas have been awarded to Nigerian students.

    There are long queues outside immigration processing centres and embassies every day, and everyone here seems to know someone who’s leaving or trying to relocate abroad.

    The term “japa”, which means “to run, flee or escape” in Yoruba, has become a popular topic of conversation online, as well as on radio and TV chat shows.

    Most of those who can afford to leave the country legally are well educated. They include doctors, nurses, engineers and IT professionals. It’s led some to call the exodus a “brain drain”.

    The Nigeria Medical Association, says at least 50 doctors leave Nigeria every week to work abroad. Poor working conditions, coupled with bad pay and the rising cost of living are the main factors.

    Kunle Ibisola is a junior doctor who used to work at the University College Hospital (UCH), in the south-western city of Ibadan. He now works for NHS Scotland.

    Dr Kunle Ibisola
    Image caption,Dr Kunle Ibisola moved from Ibadan to Scotland – and his wife and children are set to join him soon

    “My story is the story of most Nigerian doctors,” he tells me over the phone. “I never wanted to leave Nigeria. My intention was to start my residency there, become a consultant and practice in my country.

    “The main reason I left is salary, and the cost of living. In the UK, if I work six to eight hours of locum work [overtime] and I convert that to naira, it will be the equivalent of my monthly salary in Nigeria. And that’s not even including my main UK salary.”

    He says a year ago his hospital in Nigeria started haemorrhaging doctors.

    “Some doctors didn’t get paid for six to nine months, because there was an issue with the federal payment system. Some senior colleagues couldn’t afford to drive to work or send their children to school. That was an eye-opener for a lot of people.”

    His wife and children are planning to join him in Scotland soon. When I ask him what he thinks the future holds for Nigeria, he grows pensive.

    “If I think about it too much, it’s depressing because even people currently in medical school are all planning to leave. If you aren’t planning to leave, people think you’re unfortunate or you don’t have money.”

    I have spoken to half a dozen doctors, all with similar stories. Overworked and underpaid, they all decided to relocate over the past two years.

    For those left behind, the pressure is immense. Cheta Nwanze, an economic analyst at SBM Intelligence, says Nigeria’s current high rate of inflation is mainly caused by food inflation.

    “SBM has this proxy for food inflation called the Jollof Index,” he explains, referring to the tomato-based rice dish, popular across West Africa. “We calculate the average cost of making a pot of jollof rice for a family of five. It was just under 4,000 naira at the start of 2016, and now it’s around 10,000 naira [$22, £18] – so it’s more than doubled in five years.”

    Jollof rice
    Image caption,The price of jollof rice – a staple in West Africa – has surged in Nigeria recently

    He explains that although Nigeria has been affected by some of the same drivers of inflation as elsewhere in the world, namely the war in Ukraine and the 2020 pandemic, there are additional factors unique to the country.

    He says that many farmers in the north, where much of the country’s food comes from, have been unable to plant their crops in recent years because of attacks by Islamist militants and kidnappers.

    “When you couple that with the government’s protectionist policies with respect to food imports, and Nigeria’s growing population, it means there’s less food for more mouths to feed, which drives up inflation.”

    The impact of this can be seen in the country’s markets. In Ajah, a small food market in a residential suburb of Lagos, there are fewer people than usual.

    Omowunmi Ajekigbe, a market trader, is grating okra under a huge parasol. “Things weren’t too expensive last year,” she tells me, “but this year, it’s too much. You used to see lots of customers rushing about, but now… you barely see anybody.

    At a nearby stall, Cordelia Fidelis, a young woman with long braids and a big smile, is haggling with a vegetable seller. She owns a catering business and comes to the market every day.

    “The cost of goods is alarming – in just two months the price of yams has more than doubled. It’s crazy, I swear it’s crazy, everything is so expensive. A box of egg is expensive, beef is expensive, palm oil is so expensive.”

    Crowds of people walking through Lagos
    Image caption,Private food banks in Lagos are trying to help feed people in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city

    Some have started taking drastic action to manage their expenses. Angela Chukwulozie is a retired teacher who now sells Italian shoes. “Since the price of everything has gone up, I’ve cut back on how many meals my family and I eat every day. Instead of eating three times in a day we now eat twice.”

    The economy is one of the key concerns for voters in next month’s elections. Despite being Africa’s largest economy, four out of 10 Nigerians live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. All of the main candidates have promised to improve the country’s economy if elected, but there is scepticism as to whether they can deliver.

    The Central Bank says the change of currency, which must be completed by 10 February when the old banknotes will no longer be legal tender, will help bring some of the cash currently being hoarded by individuals and companies back into the banking system.

    It says 80% of the notes currently in circulation are outside banks. The organisation hopes the change will give it a better understanding of the money circulating in the economy so it can better manage inflation. Whether or not it will be successful is debatable.

    Back in London, Oroma is optimistic, despite the hardships her country is facing.

    “There’s no place like home. I go back to Nigeria every three months, because when I haven’t been there, I literally feel like I’m dying.

    “I feel like Nigeria is at the point where, if we can change now, it’s not too late. We just need some basics: people need to be educated, we need electricity, we need roads. If we can just do these three things and improve security, I think the potential in Nigeria is amazing.”

    Source: BBC

  • Cost of living crisis: 130 bus companies cap fares at £2 to help passengers

    In light of the 10.1% inflation rate, the government initiative aims to make it easier for commuters to get to work, school, and appointments.

    130 operators outside of London have limited bus fares to £2 in an effort to assist commuters with the rising cost of living.

    The £60 million project, which will cap the number of single journeys, is funded by the Department of Transportation.

    The average bus fare in England is currently £2.80, but in rural areas with few services, that cost can increase to over $5.

    One-way ticket prices will now be capped at £2 by 130 bus companies, including National Express and Stagecoach. The programme is not applicable in London.

    Children’s tickets are also being frozen at £1 for a single journey.

    The government initiative hopes to help passengers get to work, school and appointments more cheaply amid 10.1% inflation.

    Buses minister Richard Holden said: “Brits love buses. They’re the most popular form of public transport in England, making up half of all journeys.

    “The scheme will also take two million car journeys off the road and it’s fantastic to see so many bus operators signing up.”

    National Express chief executive Tom Stables added: “More people using buses is good for the economy, environment and wider society.

    “Bus travel is simple, cheap and easy and there’s never been a better time to get onboard.”

    Source: Skynews.com 

  • Third of Brits going back into the office to save money – as monthly bills named biggest financial concern for everyone

    Nearly a third of Britons are going back to the office more because of the cost of living crisis, in a bid to save money on energy bills.

    Some 71% of those now working from the office have noticed a change in the price of their energy bills, according to research from Brother (who surveyed 500 people).

    Additional research from money.co.uk found monthly bills were the biggest financial concern for people in the UK – regardless of what salary they earned.

    One in eight of those earning under £15,000 were concerned about having enough money for food.

    Those earning about £55,000 were most worried about their mortgage payments.

    What do you do if you cannot pay a bill?

    James Andrews, a financial expert at Money.co.uk, says: “As ever more people are becoming concerned with how they’re going to pay their bills every month, it’s important to know what steps you can take if you do find yourself unable to make a payment.

    “Don’t ignore the problem. Being unable to pay a bill is stressful, but the problem can escalate if you don’t tackle it sooner rather than later. Rather than bury your head in the sand, make contact with the company that sent the bill – they’re likely to be more understanding if you’re upfront and honest about your circumstances.

    “Prioritise housing and council tax. No one wants to miss a bill, but failing to keep up with your rent, mortgage or other debt payments secured on your home can see you evicted. That makes these bills a priority. Council tax is the only bill you can be imprisoned for failing to pay – so that’s another bill you need to pay attention to.

    “Keep paying what you can, if you can. Even if you can’t pay off the entire bill, paying what you can demonstrates that you are committed to clearing the balance eventually. This will also reduce the amount you owe, and therefore mitigate any increases on the bill if interest builds on the outstanding balance.

    “Get help. If you’re struggling to control your finances, there are several not-for-profit organisations that can consider your personal circumstances and offer you free, bespoke advice. StepChange, National Debtline, or CCCS are all dependable examples.

     

  • Your stories: Soon-to-be mum of triplets facing £40,000 a year childcare bill

    A soon-to-be mum of triplets facing a £40,000 a year childcare bill said working mothers are being penalised during the cost of living crisis.

    Vicki Sevgili, from Andover in Hampshire, is currently 28 weeks pregnant and has been told by the government and Citizen’s Advice Bureau she is better off “giving up work and living off the government” than returning to work once her maternity leave ends.

    She calculated the impending cost of childcare by researching how much it would cost for one child and then multiplying it by three.

    “The lowest figure I got was £38,000, and the highest was £54,000,” she told Sky News.

    This amount, she said, would swallow her entire wage: “I would be better off giving up work and living off the government.”

    She added: “I was told I would get support returning to the workplace.

    “But I enjoy my job and I want to keep it – not find a new one. Why can’t they support me to help me keep my job?”

    She is calling on the government to do more to support working mothers, to help them keep their jobs.

    Meanwhile, her mortgage has increased by £200 a month, as well as her energy bills rising and she is facing growing costs for groceries – all while needing to buy three of everything.

    Ms Sevgili said that while it would make more financial sense for her husband to stay home, he is in the UK on a spouse’s visa and would receive no monetary support.

    “When we first were told this, I went home and I said to my husband, let’s just move. The system just doesn’t work.

    “But I know the UK is the best place for our family to be, so we will make it work one way or another.

    Source: Skynews.com

     

     

     

  • Cost of living: Burger restaurant launches ‘kids eat free’ scheme to help struggling families

    To assist families struggling with the rising cost of living, a burger restaurant is launching a “kids eat free” programme.

    The Beefy Boys in Hereford is offering a free kids’ meal from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout November with the purchase of an adult burger or fries.

    “So grab the little sprogs and bring them down,” it said as it announced the deal on social media.

     

  • Prince David Osei threatens a protest against the government in response to an increase in living standards

    Following news that Ghana has been the nation with the highest food costs in Sub-Saharan Africa since January 2022, Ghanaian actor Prince David Osei posted a lengthy message on social media threatening a protest against the Akufo-Addo-led administration.

    Expressing himself on Instagram on October 10, 2022, the actor mentioned that he has noticed that the president and his subordinates have made it their agenda to inflict pain on citizens.

    “Mr President! With all due respect Mr President, why are you sleeping on Ghanaians… This is not acceptable Mr President? We deserve better, we know there are global crises and hardships. Yes, we know!

    “But it looks like you and your ministers are determined to inflict untoward hardship on the citizenry. I decided to give you and your government the benefit of the doubt, I reckon I was wrong!” he said.

    He added that the youth in the country are suffering and if things don’t change by December he was going to mobilise them to demonstrate.

    “The Youth of this nation are not smiling, it pours, but we are still sweating. If things don’t change by December, we will mobilise the youth of this country and hit the street irrespective of party affiliations, whether NPP, NDC, CQQ, PNC whatever, it doesn’t matter now, we are all in this together.

    “God bless our motherland ???????? We want to see improvement in our livelihoods. If you have to sack some people do it without fear or favour because your legacy is on the line, Sir!! @nakufoaddo,” he added.

    His post comes after the World Bank’s October 2022 Africa Pulse Report revealed that food prices in Ghana have been on the rise since January 2022 by 122%.

    The report noted that Ghana has experienced very rapid food price increases this year, breaching the “inflation ceiling of the central bank target bands for all countries with an explicit nominal anchor.”

     

     

  • Cost of living: Choosing between bread and phone data in South Africa

    It is cold and dark when 53-year-old factory worker Letta Nkabinde leaves her home in Ivory Park at 5am to begin her hour-long commute to work.

    She tucks her handbag beneath her coat to keep it hidden from the thieves who are known to lurk in this working-class Johannesburg neighbourhood, waiting for targets, before walking 10-15 minutes to the nearby taxi stand to catch a 16-seater minibus to the wealthy area where she works in a factory that manufactures cosmetics.

    “The morning shift starts at 6am sharp, so I have to get up very early,” says Letta who is wearing a formal red jacket and crimson lipstick. “I know workers that wake up at 3am every day to get to work on time because they have to walk a longer distance to reach taxis. It’s very difficult.”

    South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, according to the World Bank, which in a recent report highlighted how the historically unequal distribution of land “undermines rural development and entrepreneurship” and leaves Black South Africans, women-headed households, and unemployed people with the highest rates of poverty and income inequality.

    Letta’s community in Ivory Park, a densely populated area where nearly 98 percent of the residents are Black, is one of the poorest in South Africa. Nearly 30 years after the end of apartheid, poorer communities continue to live with the harsh reality of segregated spatial dynamics, which began when apartheid-era laws forced different races to live in different areas, relegating people of colour – especially Black people – to those furthest from the urban centres where they could find employment.

    The roads surrounding Ivory Park’s modest homes and corrugated informal dwellings are unpaved; some of them have potholes that have filled with water and sewage, and taxis refuse to pick up commuters from their streets to avoid tire damage.

    But Letta does not mind the daily walk from home to reach a minibus taxi, she says, despite the threat of bad weather and crime. “That’s not the worst of it for me, the bigger problem is that public transport has become unaffordable.”

    In previous years, the single mother of three used to budget about 900 rand ($51) for transportation every month; she now spends 1,200 rand ($68) per month and worries that the cost will only rise.

    “Taxis are always increasing because of the rising cost of fuel. Towards month-end, you are struggling to go to work because you don’t have money for transport,” she explains.

    Letta Nkabinde
    Letta attended a nationwide demonstration against the rising cost of living in August [Courtesy of Letta Nkabinde]

    ‘Rising cost of living’

    Letta works as a production line operator for a global cosmetics manufacturing brand based in the affluent area of Midrand, about 10km (6.2 miles) from Ivory Park. She has spent 25 years working daily eight-hour shifts at the same factory and earns 70.83 rand ($4) per hour. Her net monthly income is 17,000 rand ($959) but she takes home approximately 13,000 rand ($733) per month after tax deductions. Although this is better than the minimum wage in South Africa (23.19 rand or just more than $1 per hour), she says it “is barely enough to get by”.

    The latest news from around the world.Timely. Accurate. Fair.

    The rising cost of goods and services has had a particularly harsh impact on workers like Letta, whose salary has remained stagnant for years.

    “Companies don’t want to talk about wage increases any more, they just tell you about COVID and its impact,” she says, “As a worker, especially as a single parent, and a woman, it makes life very difficult.”

    Letta supports her thee children – aged 30, 21 and 12 – as the family’s main breadwinner. Her two adult children live at home with her while they study and look for employment in South Africa’s dwindling job market. Her youngest daughter, she says with beaming pride, “is smart, she is not like children her age who demand ridiculous things because of what their friends have, she understands that as a single parent, I give them my best, and what I don’t offer them is beyond control”.

    “It is difficult to take care of yourself and your children these days. We really can’t afford comfort any more, we are down to basics, and you must make tough choices,” says Letta, with a concerned expression. “Think about the current food inflation price, these days you have to choose between bread and things like [mobile phone] data or entertainment.”

    Letta Nkabinde
    Letta, at work years ago, when she was still a line production assistant at the factory [Courtesy of Letta Nkabinde]

    The annual rate of consumer inflation grew from 7.4 percent in June to 7.8 percent in July, the highest rise in 13 years according to Stats SA, the government’s department of statistics. The largest contributors to food inflation, according to the report, are “oils and fats, electricity, fuel, and bread and cereals”.

    In June, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged the unbearable cost of living in his newsletter, stating, “the most basic foodstuffs cost more now than a year ago.”

    He further attributed the price increases, particularly those for fuel and food, to the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and claimed that these developments “are the result of circumstances over which we have little control.”

    Since South Africa trades with both Russia and Ukraine, the human cost of the conflict is being felt by the general populace. The deputy minister of finance, David Masondo, told a parliamentary committee in March that, “much of what has been affected is wheat, maize, and oil supplies. The increase in [the] price of these household staples has added to inflation and reduced the disposal income of consumers”.

    But Letta believes the government could be “doing more on issues that they can control” such as the price of household electricity.

    In South Africa, government municipalities are largely responsible for distributing electricity to households after acquiring it from Eskom, the country’s power utility. The tariffs Eskom charges municipalities are a significant factor in the cost of electricity, according to the most recent research conducted by Stats SA.

    The report also claims that since the introduction of rolling national blackouts in 2007, which resulted in a “loss of economic output” of roughly 500 million rand (about $28m) per blackout every day in 2020 and is thought to be a contributing factor in the loss of more than one million job opportunities, electricity rates have risen dramatically.

    “I now spend about 500 rand ($28) on electricity every month, half of that used to be enough for me and my family,” says Letta.

    “They tell you to save electricity consumption, but as much as we can try to lessen the amount of electricity we use in our homes, it doesn’t work,” she emphatically explains. “We turn off the television when we go to sleep, we even turn off the fridge when we go to sleep to try and save but you’ll wake up the next morning and find less units.”

    ‘By the grace of God’

    Letta had a difficult childhood. She was born during apartheid in what is now Mpumalanga province, to the east of Johannesburg.

    Raised by a working single mother, she remembers moving from one home to another, staying with “many families” until her mother got a house in an informal settlement in Johannesburg, but then being forced back to the rural areas when they lost that home.

    “I’d say that I grew up like an orphan. I did not have a proper family so really I grew by the grace of God,” says Letta.

    She dropped out of school after the 12th grade and started working the same year at just 18 years old. The idea that “when you are a woman, you must fend for yourself because no one will fend for you,” has always been ingrained in her, which forced her to mature quickly.

    “I struggled to find a job after I left high school, so I started a small business. I would sell potatoes, oranges, mielies, on some days and then find piece jobs like babysitting, at the same time,” she says.

    It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she managed to get a steady job – working in the factory where she still works today, after almost a decade of experiencing income insecurity as an informal worker.

    South Africa's labour unions strike in Pretoria
    Members of South Africa’s labour unions carried placards during a nationwide strike over the high cost of living, in Pretoria, on August 24, 2022. Letta also took part in the demonstration [Esa Alexander/Reuters]

    Although Letta considers herself a middle-income earner – defined by the South African Department of Human Settlements and Water Sanitation as individuals who earn between 3,501 rand ($197) and 22,000 rand ($1,241) per month – she contends that the country’s middle class is “living from paycheque to paycheque.”

    “You know, before you were able to invest, you had money to keep aside, but not any more. It is impossible to save now. How do you save what you don’t have?” Letta laughs.

    “We are the non-existent middle class. We do not qualify for government assistance, but we cannot afford many basics,” she says. “But do you know what they say we can afford? Debt.”

    Union work

    In August, Letta, who doubles as a worker representative in the factory for the grassroots General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA), swapped her factory garments for a red t-shirt and a pair of casual sneakers.

    She took part in a national demonstration that was arranged by workers at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the nation’s capital, with the support of 200 unions and civil society organisations. In major cities around the country, 5,000 protesters marched in support of increased pay, lower fuel prices, and government action to address the skyrocketing prices of basic needs and services.

    The high turnout reveals the rising discontent and desperation among the country’s labour force about the cost of living.

    “The protest was very important. The government should be aware that workers are suffering. When we are quiet, the government also keeps quiet. They need to understand what we are going through,” says Letta.

    She often faces an uphill battle as both an employee and an advocate for workers, she explains, “I act as the middle woman between management and employees. If there’s a problem on the side of employees, I work on those complaints with management. And if the management has a problem, they also come to me.”

    Letta acknowledges that the rising cost of living is “challenging to both companies and workers,” but she also thinks that individuals who educate themselves about the value of their labour and demand what they are entitled to may help bring about change.

    “I’ve learned that as workers, we don’t know our rights. We don’t know what we are owed for our labour or our value,” she says. “I’m trying to bring awareness. Unions help us exercise our rights and I want to teach workers that.”

    Source: Aljazeera

  • Young cancer patients ‘in a desperate situation’ due to risisng cost of living

    Young cancer patients facing rising living expenses are in a “desperate” situation, charities are warning.

    According to Macmillan Cancer Support and Young Lives vs. Cancer, the number of persons requesting emergency funds has dramatically increased.

    Research suggests tens of thousands of 18 to 39-year-olds with cancer are struggling to pay basic living costs.

    Shell Rowe was among those who told BBC Newsbeat they’re worried about becoming financially independent.

    She was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 20 in 2019, just as she was about to study film in California for her third year of university.

    “I turned to the mirror and it was like a tennis ball in my throat,” she says.

    “One minute you’re about to go on this adventure of a lifetime and then you’re sat in a hospital room – you’re bald, you’re looking really skinny and frail.”

    More than half of the 18 to 39-year-olds with cancer surveyed by Macmillan and Virgin Money said they needed more financial support to manage the rising cost of living.

    One in four young people are getting further into debt or have fallen behind paying rent and energy bills because of increased living costs, according to the survey of 2,000 people across all age groups.

    That’s compared with 13% of people with cancer in their 40s and 50s, and 6% of those aged over 60.

    The research found almost three-quarters (74%) of younger people with cancer were worried about the cost of food over the next 12 months.

    Shell is one of them.

    “Prices have skyrocketed. I haven’t been able to work and haven’t been able to save and get a job,” she says.

    “How am I ever going to be able to be financially independent? It really scares me.”

    Kamui looking at the camera sitting next to a sofa
    IMAGE SOURCE,KAMUI OSHINO Image caption, Kamui Oshino, whose weight has dropped significantly as a result of treatment, is struggling with food price increases

    I

    Kamui Oshino, 20, is studying journalism at the University of the West of England in Bristol. They were diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma in December 2021.

    “When you go through chemo, a lot of people start off very underweight. I was 40kg so I had to buy new clothes,” Kamui says.

    “And then being on steroids, I had to eat absolutely all the time. Obviously the price of food is going up. I couldn’t afford that.”

    More than a tenth (11%) of those surveyed say they’ve had to delay or cancel medical appointments due to the rising cost of petrol.

    Many people have to travel long distances for treatment, often in their own cars or a taxi because the risk of infection rules out taking public transport.

    Tyler in hospital;
    Image caption, Tyler Hale was diagnosed with testicular cancer in hospital

    Tyler Hale, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in November 2021, had to swap from driving his car to taking the bus, which takes an hour each way.

    “I’ve had to pay a lot of travel costs to go from Weston-super-Mare to Bristol for treatment. With the costs of that going up, it’s ridiculous,” he says.

    A third of young people surveyed also say their mental health has deteriorated with the financial worry.

    ‘Never been as bad as this’

    People with cancer already face significant extra costs of nearly £900 when they get diagnosed, such as buying extra clothes, food or using more heating to stay warm, Macmillan’s data shows.

    Now inflation has driven those costs up and the charity says they’ve seen a surge in demand for their means-tested financial grant to help cancer patients with costs, including energy bills.

    “In July we saw a 292% increase in grant applications versus the same month last year. It is really worrying to see so many people worried about food,” says Chris Jones from Macmillan.

    Macmillan is not the only charity seeing an increase in young cancer patients needing support.

    “It’s never been as bad as this. Young people with cancer are in really desperate circumstances, because of the cost-of-living crisis,” says Rachel Kirby, chief executive of Young Lives vs Cancer.

    The UK charity supports cancer patients under 24 and has given 1,319 people up to £372,825 in financial help since launching its Winter Emergency Grant in 2021 to help with rising costs.

    “No young cancer patient should have to think about the choice of putting fuel in the car to get to treatment, or whether they can heat their homes. But those are the kinds of situations they’re facing,” Rachel says.

    UK

    Macmillan and Young Lives vs Cancer are calling on the government to give more financial help to cancer patients.

    “We are calling for the government to really step up and support families with the cost of cancer. Because this situation is only going to get worse as we move into a cost of living crisis over the next six months,” Rachel says.

    “There’s an average of a 20-week wait to claim a disability allowance that could help young people with travel and heating costs. We are asking the government to take urgent steps to reduce the delays,” Chris adds.

    The Department of Health and Social Care said Prime Minister Liz Truss had announced new measures to help people with energy bills, such as the recent energy price guarantee and £400 discount for all households.

    A spokesperson added: “We are streamlining cancer diagnostic services to get people diagnosed faster, backed by £325m.

    “The NHS continued to prioritise cancer treatment throughout the Covid pandemic. Overall cancer treatment was maintained at 100% of pre-pandemic levels, and 94% of people starting treatment have done so within a month.”

  • Cost of living: UK facing ‘public health emergency’ NHS chiefs warn

    The cost of living crisis could spark a “public health emergency” and lead to a rise in excess winter deaths unless the government takes action to help people with rising energy costs, health chiefs have warned.

    Families are looking ahead to a grim winter as experts predict the cap on energy bills will hit close to £3,600 per year from October – before rising again in April next year.

     

    Surging prices mean people will have to choose between skipping meals to heat their homes or living in poor conditions, the National Health Service(NHS) Confederation said in a letter to ministers.

    This will inevitably lead to more people falling ill and seeing their health deteriorate.

    The body, which represents NHS leaders across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, also warned rising rates of poverty will lead to increased hospital admissions as well as a huge increase in demand on other parts of the NHS, placing front-line services and staff under “intolerable pressure”.

    “If people cannot afford to heat their homes sufficiently and if they cannot afford nutritious food, then their health will quickly deteriorate,” the health chiefs wrote.

    “This will increase the already high number of annual deaths associated with cold homes – estimated at around 10,000 a year.

  • BP reports second-quarter profit of £6.9bn – highest in 14 years

    In spite of record-high fuel costs, BP has announced its largest quarterly profit in 14 years of £6.9 billion ($8.45 billion).

    Underlying BP’s replacement cost profit, the company’s definition of net earnings, was the strongest since 2008 and far exceeded analysts’ expectations of £5.6bn ($6.8bn).

    That contrasts with a profit of £2.29 billion ($2.8 billion) a year ago and £5.12 billion ($6.25 billion) in the first three months of 2022.
    The massive oil and gas company raised its dividend by 10% to 6.006 cents per share, above its previous forecast of a 4% yearly growth.

    But it did take a £19.9bn ($24.4bn) hit after ditching its near-20% stake in Russian oil producer Rosneft in response to the Ukraine war.

    BP chief executive Bernard Looney said: “Today’s results show that BP continues to perform while transforming.

    “Our people have continued to work hard throughout the quarter helping to solve the energy trilemma – secure, affordable, and lower carbon energy.

    “We do this by providing the oil and gas the world needs today – while at the same time, investing to accelerate the energy transition.”

    But it comes as UK households face a rapidly-worsening cost of living crisis, with rising wholesale energy prices being a major factor.

    It also comes days after record profits were reported by rival Shell, as well as the two largest US oil companies – Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

    The record cash flowing into energy companies has reignited calls for a tougher windfall tax on additional profits on oil and gas, the prices of which have soared as Russia invaded Ukraine and threatened to cut off gas supplies to Europe.

    Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s shadow chancellor, said: “People are worried sick about energy prices rising again in the autumn, but yet again we see eye-watering profits for oil and gas producers.

    “Labour argued for months for a windfall tax on these companies to help bring bills down, but when the Tories finally u-turned they decided to hand billions of pounds back to producers in tax breaks. That is totally wrong.

    “It’s clear people need greater protection from rising bills. That’s why Labour would use this money now to help people get through the winter.

    “But we can’t carry on like this. Labour would bring down energy bills for good with a green energy sprint for home-grown power, and a 10-year warm homes plan to cut bills for 19 million cold, draughty homes.”

    ‘Laughing all the way to the bank’

    Doug Parr, the chief scientist for Greenpeace UK, said: “While households are being plunged into poverty with knock-on-impacts for the whole economy, fossil fuel companies are laughing all the way to the bank. The government is failing the UK and the climate in its hour of need.

    “Government must bring in a proper windfall tax on these monster profits and stop giving companies massive tax breaks on destructive new fossil fuel investments.

    “This could unlock billions of pounds to alleviate household bills and fund a nationwide roll-out of home insulation which would keep bills low for good and get our UK fossil gas use under control.”