The SRD grant was introduced in May 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, to support poor households during the national lockdown.
About 7.3-million people receive it.
“Discussions are under way to consider options for a replacement for this temporary grant. No final decision has been made about a replacement or how it would be finalised.
“As a result, the temporary grant will be extended for one year until March 2024.”
Godongwana has also adjusted his 2022/2023 budget to allocate R6.1bn to KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and North West for disaster relief after the April 2022 floods.
KwaZulu-Natal will receive the biggest portion, at R4.5bn, the Eastern Cape R375m, R289m for the Western Cape, while North West will get R111m.
More than 400 people died during the floods, with thousands more left homeless and critical infrastructure, including water and electricity supply, damaged.
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MID-TERM BUDGET | R350 social relief of distress grant extended
Image: Sino Majangaza
The government has again extended the monthly R350 social relief of distress grant by another year, to March 2024.
This was announced by finance minister Enoch Godongwana during the tabling of his mid-term budget in parliament on Wednesday.
Godongwana first extended the SRD grant to March 2023 at the presentation of the 2022 budget in February.
On Wednesday he told MPs the extension formed part of the R66.9bn spending package targeted at health, education, social services and the provision of free basic municipal services in the next two years.
The latest extension comes amid calls for Godongwana to introduce a basic income grant (BIG) to cushion the poor from hunger and unemployment.
The minister said discussions were ongoing on the best permanent replacement option for the SRD grant, cautioning there would have to be a trade-off on which spending cuts or tax measures should be implemented to make provision for BIG.
“I want to reiterate that any permanent extension or replacement will require permanent increases in revenue, reductions in spending elsewhere or a combination of the two,” he told MPs.
The SRD grant was introduced in May 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, to support poor households during the national lockdown.
About 7.3-million people receive it.
“Discussions are under way to consider options for a replacement for this temporary grant. No final decision has been made about a replacement or how it would be finalised.
“As a result, the temporary grant will be extended for one year until March 2024.”
Godongwana has also adjusted his 2022/2023 budget to allocate R6.1bn to KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and North West for disaster relief after the April 2022 floods.
KwaZulu-Natal will receive the biggest portion, at R4.5bn, the Eastern Cape R375m, R289m for the Western Cape, while North West will get R111m.
More than 400 people died during the floods, with thousands more left homeless and critical infrastructure, including water and electricity supply, damaged.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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