Civil groups decry budget cut for Social Relief of Distress grants

Civil organisations say they are disappointed by the reduction of the budget for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grants, saying that more money should have been allocated as the R350 beneficiaries are getting is not enough.

Finance minister, Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday said the grant would be extended until 2025.  

“R34bn is allocated to extend the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant by another year. Over the medium term, a provisional allocation is retained while a comprehensive review of the entire social grant system is finalised,” said Godongwana.  

The grant was implemented to assist individuals with low incomes who were affected by the lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic and has since been extended multiple times. 

Senior researcher at the Institute of Economic Justice, Kelle Howson said the budget cut was the bare minimum they had expected. 

“The grant isn’t terminated or scrapped but it essentially represents the only way the government is upholding the very basic constitutional rights of a large segment of the population.

“This is incredibly disappointing because we are aware that hunger, food insecurity and poverty are increasing. The level of need in the community is higher, and there can be no justification in this context for reducing the level of government support for the most vulnerable,” said Howson.

Howson said the numerous budget cuts had got worse with time. 

“In 2022, they allocated R44bn for the grant, enabling it to be paid to 10.5-million people. Then they reduced the grant budget to R36bn, allowing it to be paid to only 8.5-million people. Now, they have further reduced it to R34bn.

“This means that approximately a million people will lose access to the grant and we don’t know how the Treasury will justify preventing eligible individuals from accessing it,” she said. 

#PayTheGrants deputy chairperson, Elizabeth Raiters said it’s unfair that South Africans were being unfairly cut from the grant. 

“I don’t think this is a sustainable answer because I don’t believe that SA doesn’t have money. I do think they are overspending in places that they are not supposed to be spending and they should be cutting costs there.

“So many people are being unfairly cut from the grant and it’s their constitutional right to be socially supported by the government if they can’t afford to take care of their rights,” said Raiters. 

Raiters said the value of the grant has decreased with inflation. 

“We have been also fighting for an increase and with the budget being lower this means that’s not possible and the value of the grant is already so low compared to when it was implemented, and if you look at the [food] basket now the value of R350 is only R224, so this is the only grant that has not increased in the last three years, yet inflation has gone up so high,” said Raiters. 

Budget researcher at SECTION27, Matshidiso Lencoasa said the budget cut also had gender implications. 

“The budget cuts have a significant impact on the entire country, but women, particularly those engaged in unpaid care work, bear the brunt. Budget reductions are often shouldered by women, who sacrifice to maintain their families’ standard of living. The lack of an increase in the SRD grant in line with inflation, especially food inflation, erodes its value for households.

“Over the past decade, the gap between men and women living below the poverty line has widened, exacerbating the challenges faced by underserved women, who are disproportionately affected by these cuts,” said Lencoasa.

mashalek@sowetan.co.za