Child Support Grant Must Be Increased Says New Study, Single Mothers Need More Support
- A new study has suggested that single mothers in Cape Town can not make ends meet with the current child grant payout
- The study has caused many people to call for the child grant to be increased by more than the R20 that was announced in last week's budget speech
- President Ramaphosa said that he recently engaged in discussions with various stakeholders who informed him of the substantial benefits of the SRD grant
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CAPE TOWN - A new study, titled 'Children, Social Assistance and Food Security, has suggested that single mothers in Cape Town can not make ends meet with the current child grant payout of R460, mainly because the poverty line is R744.96.
The study has caused many people to call for the child grant to be increased by more than the R20 announced in last week's budget speech. According to the study, 12 million South African children benefit from the child grant.
Dr Wanga Zembe-Makabile, from the South African Medical Research Council, said that parents who receive child grants often have to give their children cheap food with almost no nutritional value so that they can use the majority of the money to cover other costs, IOL reports.
Source: Getty Images
The impact of the SRD grant
The extension of the R350 SRD grant is another factor in the increased calls to raise the child grant. President Ramaphosa said that he recently engaged in discussions with various stakeholders who informed him of the substantial benefits of the SRD grant. According to SABC News, more than 10 million South Africans have received assistance.
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The president added that the government want to eventually replace the grant with a sustainable option that does not take away from other departments' budgets. He said that the government would prioritise the neediest demographics.
“As much as it has had a substantial impact, we must recognise that we face extreme fiscal constraints. A fiscal crisis would hurt the poor most of all through the deterioration of the basic services on which they rely,” the president said.
South Africans react to grants
@KopvilleFrost asked:
"How would you survive on an R350 grant with the way things are becoming extremely expensive?"
@MotsamaiPaulMt1 believes:
"The president might as well make it permanent because most people don't have jobs, especially youth, then cut it when you get a permanent job."
@Dashiqi remarked:
"Job creation will replace this grant."
Taxpayers paid R45bn for SASSA R350 SRD grant during Covid19 pandemic, economic predictions for 2022
In earlier news about grants, Briefly News previously reported that since April 2020, taxpayers in South Africa had contributed R45 billion collectively towards the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant distributed by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).
Paseka Letsatsi, SASSA's spokesperson, said the agency is unsure how much the SRD grant will cost in 2022, as more people are registering to receive welfare. However, economists have predicted that it could cost R35 billion.
During his State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the grant, which was due to end in March 2022, would be distributed to March 2023.
Source: Briefly News
