Mboweni gives clarity on social grant top-ups that will end in six months

Finance minister Tito Mboweni on Friday shed more light on the top-ups that will be given to social grant beneficiaries during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mboweni said each child registered with the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) would receive an additional R300 in May.

“From June we'll change the way the system works a little. From June to October caregivers — typically mothers — will get an additional R500 each month,” he said.

This meant that as from June regardless of how many children a caregiver had registered, their additional top up would be capped at R500 on top of the normal social grant amount.

Meanwhile, all other grants would be topped up by R250 a month for the next six months.

“A special Covid-19 social relief of distress grant of R350 a month for the next six months will be paid to individuals who are unemployed and do not receive any other form of social grant or UIF payment,” he said.

The government had set aside R50bn for the social security grants during this period.

Mboweni stressed that this amount would assist those who were most desperately affected by the virus and added that these were simply temporary measures, because of the situation at hand.

At the end of the stipulated period, the top-ups would cease.

“I am quite certain that our people will work together with us to understand the situation,” Mboweni said.