THE Social Relief of Distress Grant, also known as the R350 grant, will continue to be paid to millions of poor South Africans.
President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement during his State of the Nation Address on Thursday.
This as government continues to consider options for a replacement for the grant with no decision taken yet on how the replacement will be financed.
He said the government will ensure that existing social grants are increased to cushion the poor against rising inflation.
During his presentation of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament in October last year, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana made a commitment that the R350 grant will be extended until March 2024.
“In support of this work and to counter the rising cost of living, we will continue the Social Relief of Distress Grant, which currently reaches around 7.8 million people,” said Ramaphosa.
“We will ensure that existing social grants are increased to cushion the poor against rising inflation. This will be set out in the budget by the Minister of Finance.”
He added that work was underway to develop a mechanism for targeted basic income support for the most vulnerable, within our fiscal constraints.
“This will build on the innovation we have introduced through the SRD Grant, including linking the data that we have across government to make sure we reach all those who are in need,” he said.
“National Treasury is considering the feasibility of urgent measures to mitigate the impact of loadshedding on food prices.”
According to Treasury, the SRD grant is expected to grow by at least 8.8% every year and its financial implications could reach some R64.9 billion in the 2030/31 financial year – casting an impact on the sustainability of the public purse.
“The SRD grant was introduced in May 2020 as a temporary measure to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable, who were affected by [COVID-19 induced] lockdown measures. It has been extended several times since then. Discussions on the future of the grant are ongoing and involve very difficult trade-offs and financing decisions,” Godongwana said last year.
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