Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu.
- The Ministry of Social Development wants to extend the R350 Social Relief Grant of Distress for another two years.
- The extension is intended to provide income support until a permanent solution is rolled out.
- The scholarship is supposed to end in March 2024, after it was first offered during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Department of Social Development He is pressing the Cabinet to extend the R350 Social Relief Grant (SRD) for another two years.
This is to ensure much-needed income support continues until the Basic Income Support (BIS) policy is implemented.
According to Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, cash programs such as the SRD scholarship have their benefits.
An agreement about the future of the SRD grant or what should replace it when the provisional arrangement no longer expires.
The scholarship, which was offered at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, has been extended to March 2024 but remains a temporary award.
“Cash transfers are effective in addressing negative coping strategies such as poor diets or debt. Distributing cash allowances boosts the local economy, especially on market days. Cash can link to existing social protection systems or build blocks for future long-term assistance from the start,” it shows. Cash transfer programs such as the R350 SRD grant have many benefits, including reducing extreme poverty, increasing school enrolment and improving nutrition.”
Read | SA can’t afford not to get a basic income grant as millions live in poverty – Good party
She added that the department completed and consulted on the draft basic income support policy.
This was based on the “trajectory of meeting the long-term income needs of vulnerable individuals of working age”.
“We are now in the process of refining the draft based on the constructive input we received from various stakeholders, with the aim of moving the draft policy through the Cabinet process with the hope that it will gain the necessary support and financial commitment to enable approval for its implementation.
“In view of the fact that such a policy, if approved, would require legislative amendments, the Department is seeking to petition the Cabinet to extend the R350 SRD allotment for a further two years to ensure continued much-needed income support until the BIS policy can be implemented.” .
Read | Basic income grant: Policy draft goes to government committees to explore ‘series of proposals’
In February, the DA claimed that there could be sufficient funds to provide a Conditional Universal Basic Income (BIG) grant of R585 per month to unemployed adults.
This would cost taxpayers an estimated 157 billion rand annually.
They will be made available on the understanding that they will be made available only when sufficient revenues are generated from economic growth.
The Development Agenda reiterated that the feasibility of significant financing would depend on a significant and sustainable increase in economic growth.