Social relief grant to continue – for now

THE social relief of distress (SRD) grant, introduced at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, will remain in place until March 2026 as the government continues to explore long-term options to replace it.

- MANDILAKHE TSHWETE [e-mail]

According to the latest Budget documents, the grant will continue at a value of R370 per month during this period.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana yesterday announced that R844.4 billion has been allocated to the Department of Social Development over the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) period.

Of this, an estimated 99.7% or R841.4bn will go to transfers and subsidies and R815.8bn from that total allocated for social grants and the remainder to transfers for entities.

An estimated 45% of the country’s population depends on social grants or the SRD grant as a primary source of income. Social grants are distributed through the Social Assistance programme, whose allocations are set to increase at an average annual rate of 0.3%, from R269.4bn in 2024/25 to R271.4bn in 2027/28.

The Budget document noted that “the budget for social grants has been adjusted downward from the one presented on March 12 to align spending with revised revenue proposals”.