Poor South Africans trapped in poverty: Radebe
A new study shows poor South Africans are trapped in poverty and government needs to work on policy interventions to assist them.
The latest instalment of the National Income Dynamic Study (NIDS) was released on Thursday in Pretoria.
Minister in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe said the structural issues in our economy needs to be addressed.
The countrywide study kicked off in 2008 and since then the team paid four separate visits to 28 000 people.
Instead of only looking at people's lives for one day - as other surveys do - this survey tracks the same families over years to follow their economic progression.
Radebe said of those people who were poor during the first year of the study, almost three-quarters remain poor today.
"We can, therefore, conclude that these people are effectively trapped in poverty and require more policy interventions that are directed at addressing the structural issues in our economy. Then there are a number of households whose fortunes have changed and they either move into or out of poverty. These households will require different policy interventions that focus on the transitory periods to support them when they fall in to poverty," he said.
Radebe said the findings show changes to household compositions are one of the largest triggers to the entry or exit of poverty.
The income from government grants also play an important role in assisting people out of poverty.
Radebe stressed the importance of employment.
"This analysis shows that access to the labour market within households is the single most important determinant of poverty."