The unrelenting convergence of hikes in fuel, food, and municipal tariffs have transformed a temporary cost-of-living squeeze into a critical structural consumer debt crisis across South Africa, with more than half of the country’s population now spending over 40% of their take-home pay servicing debt, said Debt Rescue CEO, Neil Roets.
“The fact is, people are simply unable to make ends meet every month, and are using their store and credit cards to fill the gap. The sad fact is, every additional rand spent servicing debt is a rand that is no longer available for groceries, transport or other household necessities,” he added.