The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) announced that the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant is expected to be extended to the end of March 2024. This decision was made as the government continues to find a replacement for the grant.
Although the government is considering options for a replacement for the R350 grant, no decision has been made on how the replacement will be funded. The government is hoping to find a way to fund the replacement between now and the end of March 2024.
On Wednesday afternoon, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the extension of the grant. The announcement was made during his presentation of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament.
Godongwana stated that “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.”
Due to the extension of the SRD grants, the other social grants such as the Old Age grants and Disability grants will increase lower than inflation. In order to continue the SRD grant, funds needed to come from other areas within the agency.
The Treasury stated that the SRD grant is expected to increase by at least 8.8% every year. According to the Treasury, the financial implications could affect the public.
Godongwana said that if the grant is extended indefinitely then it will have serious implications for the public.
“Despite the provision made in this budget, I want to reiterate that any permanent extension or replacement will require permanent increases in revenue, reductions in spending elsewhere, or a combination of the two,” said the Finance Minister.
