CAPE TOWN – Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that social grants would see an adjustment in line with inflation to aid nearly 19 million South Africans who depend on these grants. The adjustment, detailed during the Budget Speech, is part of the government’s effort to mitigate the rising cost of living and is structured to be implemented in two phases within the year.
According to South African Government News Agency, Social grant increases include a R100 rise for the old age, war veterans, disability, and care dependency grants, split into R90 from April and an additional R10 from October. The foster care grant will receive a R50 boost, while the child support grant will go up by R20. Excluding the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant, social grant expenditure is projected to escalate from R217.1 billion in the 2023/24 fiscal year to R259.3 billion by the 2026/27 fiscal year.
The continuation of the COVID-19 SRD Grant, with an allocation of R33.6 billion for the 2024/25 fiscal year and provisional allocations for the subsequent two years, is under review for improvements within the current fiscal framework. These enhancements, set to be implemented by April, aim to refine the grant’s effectiveness while staying within fiscal constraints. The expected increase in grant beneficiaries, excluding SRD Grant recipients, from 18.8 million in the current fiscal year to 19.7 million by 2026/27, highlights the growing reliance on social grants amid economic challenges.