Could you live on R26 a day?

»» Trying to survive on R130.50 for five days was beyond me I gave up on day four.

- Adriaan Kruger

The Statistics SA report that outlined adjustments to the national poverty lines on 29 August presented a challenge: How it would feel to experience the life of a very poor person for a few days and survive on the bare minimum?

A week of poverty would have been enough for this experiment, but the goal was immediately cut to five days because of the "hardship" of sacrificing a relaxing weekend. And I admit to cheating right from the start by drinking coffee.

Coffee has become extremely expensive lately. A jar of proper instant coffee has jumped to close to R150 unaffordable for somebody living on the extreme poverty line.

Stats SA recalculated the national poverty lines with changes in the cost of goods and services by using price data collected to calculate the consumer price index and the inflation rate.

The national poverty lines were constructed using the costof-basic-needs approach, which links welfare to the consumption of goods and services.

Minimum food for survival

The minimum a person needs to survive in 2024 - the food poverty line or the extreme poverty lineis R796 per person per month.

Stats SA says this amount refers to the amount of money an individual will need to be able to afford the minimum required daily energy intake.