Former Joburg speaker and South African Rainbow Alliance president Colleen Makhubele wishes to introduce a “single men's unemployment grant” should she win the 2024 national elections.
Makhubele says this is her way of restoring balance in society by affording men the same opportunities women are exposed to.
“The single men's unemployment grant is one of the policies we would like to introduce as SARA. We have the single women's unemployment grant which looks after their children, and at this stage, we don't have anything that looks after our unemployed single men — especially those who have children and are looking after their families.
“We want to ensure that those children are cared for. Single men account for the most suicides right now in our country. South African men are neglected, with no opportunities. Some are single and some have families — it is important that we become a caring and inclusive society that looks after their interests as well.”
It is important that we start to rebuild the confidence and the value of men in our community.
— Colleen Makhubele, South African Rainbow Alliance president
Makhubele says her party wants to ensure that as much as women are looked after, it should not only be about them. SARA wants to build a society that looks after everyone.
“Even single mother benefits from the children's grant by virtue of them looking after those children. As deserving are single men raising children too — men can lose their wives who are perhaps breadwinners.
“Single men will have the opportunity and dignity to look after their children without having to go beg or borrow. Their grant should be matched with the grant received by women. This is what our social justice policies hang on.”
Makhubele aims to fund the programme by removing the deputy ministry structure, which she says is unnecessary.
“We will save more than R40bn a year. We will also cut the ministers from 30 to 20, saving almost R60bn annually. That's the money that we want to redirect into the hands of South Africans — by increasing the Sassa grant, the unemployment grant and introducing the single men's unemployment grant.”
She believes the imbalances in society have been created and aggravated by looking after women only at the expense of men and boys.
“It is important that we start to rebuild the confidence and the value of men in our community. I'm a woman, I'm for the girl child, I'm for female leadership — but I know that we can't do it alone if we leave the men and the boy child behind.
“Let us not hinder the men and the boy child to the point where they resort to crime, think they are inferior, perpetuate gender-based violence and other social ills.
The former speaker said her party plans to increase the basic income and Sassa grants due to the cost of living.
“The R350 that is being given to the unemployed people must be raised to about R750 at least because what do you buy with R350? Especially those who have families to take care of. Over and above that, our economic policies will be constructed in a manner that creates jobs. Every South African must have food in their pots, and money in their pockets. That's our motto.”
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