Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said in his Medium-Term Budget Police Statement (MTBPS) that the Covid-19 social relief of distress (SRD) grant has been extended by a year to March 2024.
Presenting his medium-term budget policy statement to parliament, Godongwana said: “The SRD grant was introduced in May 2020 as a temporary measure to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable who were affected by lockdown measures. It has been extended several times since then. Discussions on the future of the grant are on-going and involve very difficult trade-offs and financing decisions.”
Godongwana added that the extension of the SRD grant or the introduction of a new permanent social grant would have to be accompanied by significant growth in income, a significant reduction in spending, or both.
South Africans have been waiting for the government to provide clarity on its plans for social grants in the coming years, since the inception of the R350 social relief of distress grant at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
The government has also been looking into the concept of a basic income grant providing for indigent household for a long term. Lindiwe Zulu, the Social Development Minister told the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday that government was still consulting on the modalities.
But millions of people who used to get the grant have not been receiving it since April, because of a massive drop in approvals by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).
SASSA said the number of people approved for the grant plummeted from 10.9 million in March to just under 4.8 million in April.
During his speech, Godongwana said R3.56 trillion would be taken from the budget in the next three years to support poor households.
“Moreover, over the next three years, spending increases will be prioritised to improve investment in infrastructure and boost budgets for safety, security and fighting corruption. Overall, the governments consolidated capital spending will increase from R95.1 billion in 2022/23 to R145.4 billion in 2025/26. This includes spending on state owned enterprises,” Godongwana said.
Source: News24, Ground UP, Eyewitness News, SA News, image from Twitter: @mdntvlive