Johannesburg - President Cyril Ramaphosa’s extension of the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant by an extra year to March 2023, has been welcomed by the Black Sash.
During his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday, Ramaphosa said that during this time, the government would engage in broad consultations and technical work to identify the best options to replace the grant.
"Any future support must pass the test of affordability, and must not come at the expense of basic services or at the risk of unsustainable spending," Ramaphosa said.
Esley Philander of the Black Sash said that despite the undignified value of the R350 SRD grant and its systemic flaws, it was a work in progress and provided the most immediate pathway to a permanent basic income support programme for the unemployed, and ultimately a universal basic income.
“It is what we’ve been advocating for and together with our community partners, the Black Sash will intensify advocacy efforts for the government to increase the grant’s value to at least match the Food Poverty Line which is currently R624 and address its administrative and design flaws, so that beneficiaries can access this grant in a dignified way,” Philander said.
Last month Black Sash and other civil society organisations met with Ramaphosa and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to discuss the urgent need for permanent income support for the growing millions of poor and unemployed people in South Africa.
The Black Sash, Ramaphosa and Godongwana discussed extending and improving the R350 SRD Grant as well as policy pathways for implementing a Basic Income Grant (BIG).
The Black Sash recommended the immediate extension of the Covid-19 SRD grant, expanding its eligibility criteria to reach more people, and increasing the amount to at least the Food Poverty Line.
It said that the grant’s existence relied upon regulatory powers provided under the State of Disaster, which faces the growing possibility of cancellation, and therefore, if the SRD lifeline is not to be prematurely cut, it must now be extended via adoption in the Social Assistance legal framework until at least February 2023, or until a BIG was phased in.
The Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) said that the grant was a lifeline for millions, and applauded the Ramaphosa’s administration for acknowledging the need for this grant as well as its expansion in future.
“We are however disappointed that the lack of commitment to a Basic Income Grant denies our people the very purchasing power needed to stimulate economic growth and tackle widespread hunger,” the SPII said.
Political Bureau