The government is doing nothing for the beneficiaries by increasing social funds as South Africa continues to struggle with high unemployment rates and the rising cost of living.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the increase in social funds during his Budget Speech.
The minister allocated R66 billion to the social development department over the medium term, with R36 billion set to fund the Covid-19 social assistance grant (SRD).
The R350 grant, which was first introduced in April 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, has been extended until March 31 next year.
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All other social grants have been increased in line with inflation and will cost the government R30 billion.
The old age and disability grant will increase by R90 on 1 April this year and another R10 on 1 October 2023.
This will increase the total to R2,090.
In addition, the child support grant will rise from R480 to R510 on 1 October, while the fostering grant will rise from R1,070 to R1,130 at the same time.
‘Affordability is not a problem’
Apart from the two funds, the non-profit organization (NPO) Black Sash said the increase in Godongwana was “no inflationary increase”.
“The point of what the minister has done is to provide the minimum. It is not something to throw flowers at or feel like people owe some gratitude.
“The rise in inflation is something that has to happen based on the current state of the economy so it’s not a favor that has been done to anyone,” said Black Sash director Rachel Bukasa. friendship on Wednesday.
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Bukasa said he was of the view that the government was being “selective” about the country’s financial constraints.
“It is good that fiscal pressure is only there when it comes to social security and income support, but there is no pressure when it comes to saving SAA. [South Africa Airways] and Eskom for the millionth time. This is clearly an issue of political will and not an issue of affordability,” he said.
“The reason why you have a society that needs more social support is because you have a government that fails to provide the minimum for people. If people have a job, they should not rely on social funds.
He also said Black Sash was “quite disappointed” that the minister did not commit to replacing the R350 with the universal basic income grant (BIG).
“It was surprising that there was no indication from his speech that he wanted to honor that commitment [also] not recognizing that the R350 is 2020 and now are two separate things,” said Bukasa.
“The budget has nothing to do with us [poor] community… it is aimed at the middle class and the rich,” he added.
Black Sash previously found in a report that SRD funding is not enough to alleviate the various hardships that individuals and households face on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, some unemployed young people with tertiary qualifications have relied on the R350 grant, according to the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).
The agency received 13.5 million applications – including 716,000 graduates – for social assistance grants at the end of January.
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