Two civil society groups have submitted a joint proposal to the Department of Social Development for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to be increased to a minimum of R413, in line with South Africa’s inflation.
This comes after the government department had invited organisations and individuals to submit their comments regarding the proposed amendments to SRD grant regulations issued in terms of the Social Assistance Act, which also seek to extend the grant to March 2024.
The Institute for Economic Justice along with the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa have called for a plan to increase the grant progressively until it reaches the current food poverty line.
As proper consideration has been given to the proposal, in a statement, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said:
The research and modelling work conducted by the department in 2021 and 2022 supported a proposal to increase the value of the provision.
This has been followed by the department making a request to the National Treasury for an inflationary increase to the value of the grant from R350 to R420 with the next iteration (2023/24), but the proposal was not approved by the National Treasury.
However, there will be continuous engagement with the National Treasury to consider the inflationary increase to the SRD grant.
“The Department has been concerned that since the inception of the grant, its value has never increased resulting in the purchasing power of the grant diminishing and not keeping pace with inflation,” indicated Zulu.
Some activists have also pointed out that food inflation is likely to increase the vulnerability of the poor and further compound the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
Professor Leila Patel from the University of Johannesburg has shared that a new study has revealed that some social grant recipients have opted to use their funds to generate more income through informal working.
Who Benefits From Social Grants In South Africa?
Social grants support individuals who cannot engage in wage labour due to various reasons, including unemployment.
These grants are intended to alleviate poverty and provide temporary assistance to those in dire need of material support, such as pensioners and children.
The social grant interventions have limitations in supporting working-age adults and informal workers.
To address these limitations, building out employment service programmes can help social grant beneficiaries transition to jobs.
