SASSA grant beneficiaries have a billion reasons to smile
A bill passed in the National Assembly will raise SASSA grant beneficiaries’ total payments by R50 billion. Find out more…
SASSA grant beneficiaries have been bolstered by a R50 billion boost from the National Treasury.
The South African Social Security Agency needs more funding to initiate higher payouts for SASSA grant beneficiaries. Plus, there’s a major push to transform the current Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant into Universal Basic Income Grant (BIG) by 2026. To fund such social welfare programmes, the National Assembly passed the 2024 Appropriation Bill this week. This legislation will see an additional R50 billion made available for social welfare, reports Business Tech.
WINDFALL FOR SASSA GRANT BENEFICIARIES
According to a release from Parliament, the 2024 Appropriation Bill allows access to monies from the National Revenue Fund (NRF) from 2025. The bill was tabled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana as part of the 2024 Budget back in February. However, because of the 2024 General Elections, it’s been sitting on the pass getting cold ever since. Until now, when it was revived in Parliament and approved this week.
Most notable is the windfall for SASSA grant beneficiaries, which will see spending on social welfare increase. Currently set at R283 billion, this will increase to R331 billion by 2026 and beyond. Furthermore, the proposal is for a total appropriation of R1.1 trillion in the 2024/25 financial year by vote. The National Assembly adopted the bill without amendments. However, it must now be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.
PREPARATION FOR BASIC INCOME GRANT
Moreover, looking at the proposed timeline, the 2024 Appropriation Bill appears to be government gearing up for the long-talked-about Basic Income Grant of 2026. In fact, at the opening of Parliament, President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated the success the SRD grant has had in South Africa. He said the social welfare programme is a lifeline to millions of unemployed in South Africa.
The R370 SRD grant has been extended several times since the end of the pandemic and is expected to be extended yet again, beyond March 2025. In his budget speech, Minister Godongwana said government had provisionally allocated funding for SRD grants until March 2027. July 2024 SRD grants are being disbursed as we, running until Tuesday 30 July next week.