A widow and mother of twin boys (7) and a baby girl in Ficksburg, in the Free State, who opted to remain anonymous, says the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa has somewhat caught her off-guard as financial matters are difficult to keep up with. She tells OFM News that she is forced to spend over R4000 a month on school fees, petrol, and lunchboxes for her boys who are Grade 1 pupils.

Meanwhile, another single parent and a mother of a boy (8) and a girl (13) in Klerksdorp in the North West, also shares these sentiments that schools' reopening caught her off-guard as she struggles to come up with the R600 she pays monthly for scholar transport, amongst others.

She says she couldn’t pay the scholar transport on Monday morning but fortunately, the driver decided to postpone the date of payment as she tries to come up with the R600 for both of her kids.

Most families have been finding it increasingly difficult to survive, especially since lockdown level 5 to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country in March 2020.

Many South Africans have lost their jobs as companies find it difficult to operate under difficult economic conditions and have had to let go of most of their employees. Schools have also not being spared from this as parents struggle to pay school fees and scholar transport, amongst many other things.

Another parent of twin boys aged 5, from Tigane in Hartbeesfontein, tells OFM News that she at least pays R2300 a month to have her boys at school. She says she spends R1000 on school fees, R800 on transport, R450 on lunchboxes, and R50 for other school activities. Her boys are both attending Gr RR at the Laerskool Hartbeesfontein.

OFM News