On Wednesday evening, during a National Assembly sitting, the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, officially announced that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) will increase the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. However, civil society organisations have said that the increase announced is not enough, after months of calling for an SRD grant increase.
Godongwana announced that the R350 grant will be increased from 1 April 2024 by R20, or 5.7%, making it R370 per month. The Minister said:
Subject to the finalisation of the comprehensive social security, we will increase the R350 [grant] to R370 by the first of April this year.
"That is part of the progressive realisation of the basic rights of our people," said Godongwana.
During his State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Cyril Ramaphosa, said that the SRD grant will be extended and improved. The grant is set to come to an end in March 2025.
Provisional allocations for 2025/26 and 2026/27 was also provided for the implementation of the SRD grant after receiving a budgetary allocation of R33.6 billion for 2024/25. Provisional allocations for 2025/26 and 2026/27.
This means that should the government see fit, the implementation of the grant could be extended until March 2027.
Daddy Mabe, the Secretary of #PayTheGrants, were unhappy with the SRD grant increase saying that considering inflation, the grant's purchasing power would diminish. Despite the R350 grant increase, they advocate for raising the grant to R530, citing the child support grant as a reference point.
Long term, until we have a universal basic income grant, it must be benchmarked according to the Food Poverty Line which is R760.
Ramaphosa has said that the SRD grant, which has been a lifeline for approximately 9 million people every month, has had a positive impact and that the extension and improvement represent the government's next step towards bolstering income support for the unemployed.
