The Minister of Social Development on Wednesday published draft amendments to the regulations governing the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.
The main function of the amendment is to give effect to the announced extension of the SRD grant until 2025. However, the government is also taking the opportunity to propose further punitive additions to the grant regulations which are likely to cause harm to beneficiaries. At the same time, they have again failed to take action on the inadequate value of the grant, or to address the exclusionary provisions which have prevented millions from accessing the grant.
This directly contradicts government policy laid out by the President less than two weeks ago, when he said in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), “We have seen the benefits of the [SRD] grant and will extend it and improve it as the next step towards income support for the unemployed.”
The Universal Basic Income Coalition (UBIC) has repeatedly alerted the Presidency and government institutions that the grant falls short of providing the most vulnerable with adequate social assistance. Due to inflation since 2020, the R350 value of the grant now amounts to well below half of the food poverty line. That means it is less than half of the minimum amount needed to avoid starvation.
Two of our members (IEJ and #PayTheGrants) have already brought a legal action to challenge the exclusionary management of the grant, and the retrogression of its value. Despite the weight of evidence supporting the importance of increasing the grant amount and expanding coverage—as well as government’s constitutional obligations—decision makers are choosing to persist with the retrogression of the grant, forcing more people into food poverty. This will continue to be challenged via court action. Previously another of our members, Black Sash, also had to turn to the courts with an urgent application to challenge the slashing of the means-test for the grant.
The government is proposing to add further punitive clauses to the regulations. This includes giving itself the power to recover monies from beneficiaries if they are seen to have benefitted “irregularly” or were not entitled to benefit. It is unclear how this will be applied, and we are seeking legal advice as to whether this may have adverse consequences for beneficiaries. It is DSD and SASSA’s responsibility to fairly assess whether an applicant is entitled to benefit, before a grant is paid, and we are concerned about the possibility of deserving beneficiaries being prejudiced by DSD and SASSA changing their decision retrospectively. Given the already high rate of unfair exclusion from the grant, it is imperative that this clause does not provide further avenues to exclude people in need. In addition the recovery of monies already paid could result in significant financial hardship, debt, and hunger.
The high rates of exclusion from the grant are the direct result of National Treasury pressurising DSD and SASSA to keep below an arbitrary and inadequate budget allocation. This has resulted in consistent underspending on the grant, which has been used as a justification to further slash the budget.
A further addition to the regulations states that the government will cancel applications that have not been paid out after 90 days if the reason for non-payment is that the applicant is not traceable or has not updated their details. This is concerning given that a very significant proportion of successful SRD grant applicants are affected by non-payment—not as a result of their own actions, but due to the poor administration of the grant by DSD, SASSA and their payment partners.
The most recent data we have available shows that about 13% of beneficiaries experience non-payment. A significant driver of this at the moment seems to be SASSA checking beneficiaries against inaccurate “fraud” databases, and requiring them to go through complex processes to prove their IDs are not fraudulent. With this new clause DSD and SASSA seem to be attempting to shift the blame for their inadequate systems on to beneficiaries. The government must clarify whether this new clause means that all payments pending after 90 days will be cancelled, and if not, under exactly which circumstances SASSA will be allowed to cancel payments.
Finally, we want to point out that these draft regulations are completely contrary to DSD’s publicly-stated policy direction. In July 2023 in a presentation to civil society groups, DSD stated: “The current amount of R350 has not been adjusted to keep pace with inflation since the introduction of the grant in 2020. In real terms this implies a decrease in the grant value individuals are receiving of around 16%. Increasing the grant to R500 or R663 a month would have a significant effect on poverty.”
We do not believe that DSD policymakers have drastically changed their stance since last July. Instead we believe that the Minister of Finance has used his veto power over social development policy in the context of the upcoming budget to force DSD to acquiesce with Treasury’s preferred policy positions.
This overreach by Treasury, and clear impasse at the heart of government, literally takes food off the tables of millions of South Africans. Treasury has threatened to cut other grants or raise VAT to continue the SRD grant. This is nothing more than an attempt to pit vulnerable groups against each other—there are other sustainable ways to fund increases to the SRD and Child Support Grant (CSG)—which has also received below inflation increases over the past few years.
We strongly urge the government to honour the President’s SONA commitments to extend and improve the SRD grant, and to work towards the implementation of a basic income grant as part of an inclusive development policy framework. We reiterate our call for both the SRD and the CSG to be increased to the food poverty line.
Our members will be making formal submissions on the draft regulations, which will be publicised in due course. The UBIC will continue to strongly oppose the retrogression in the value of the grant, and the exclusion of people in need, using all available avenues.
[ENDS]
For media inquiries:
- Dalli Weyers | Institute for Economic Justice | 082 460 2093 | dalli.weyers@iej.org.za
- Moses Kas | Social Policy Institute | 084 065 8158 | design@spi.net.za
- Elizabeth Raiters (#PTG) | 078 617 5489 | Elizabeth@paythegrants.org.za
UBIC is comprised of the following organisations:
- Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC)
- Black Sash
- Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) Africa UBI Observatory
- Children’s Institute, UCT
- Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)
- Global Reformed Platforms for Engagement (GRAPE )
- RightfulShare An Income Movement
- Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ)
- #PayTheGrants
- Social Policy Initiative (SPI)
- Women on Farms Project
- Youth Lab
Amaarah is a Junior Programme Officer in the Rethinking Economics for Africa project. She is currently studying towards her Masters in Applied Development Economics at Wits University. 
Dr James Musonda is the Senior Researcher on the Just Energy Transition at the IEJ. He is also the Principal Investigator for the Just Energy Transition: Localisation, Decent Work, SMMEs, and Sustainable Livelihoods project, covering South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya.
Dr Basani Baloyi is a Co-Programme Director at the IEJ. She is a feminist, development economist and activist. She gained her research experience while working on industrial policy issues in academia, at the Centre For Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) and Corporate Strategy and Industrial Development (CSID) Unit.
Dr Andrew Bennie is Senior Researcher in Climate Policy and Food Systems at the IEJ. He has extensive background in academic and civil society research, organising, and activism. Andrew has an MA in Development and Environmental Sociology, and a PhD in Sociology on food politics, the agrarian question, and collective action in South Africa, both from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Juhi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Sociology from Wits University and an Honours degree in Development Studies from the University of Cape Town. Her current research focus is on social care regimes in the South African context, with a particular focus on state responses to Early Childhood Development and Long-Term Care for older persons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her other research areas include feminist economics, worlds of work and the care economy.
Bandile Ngidi is the Programme Officer for Rethinking Economics for Africa. Bandile has previously worked at the National Minimum Wage Research Initiative and Oxfam South Africa. He holds a Masters in Development Theory and Policy from Wits University. He joined the IEJ in August 2018. Bandile is currently working on incubating the Rethinking Economics for Africa movement (working with students, academics and broader civil society). 
Liso Mdutyana has a BCom in Philosophy and Economics, an Honours in Applied Development Economics, and a Masters in Applied Development Economics from Wits University. His areas of interest include political economy, labour markets, technology and work, and industrial policy. Through his work Liso aims to show the possibility and necessity of economic development that prioritises human wellbeing for everyone.
Joan Stott holds a Bachelor of Business Science in Economics and a Master’s in Economics from Rhodes University. She brings to the IEJ a wealth of experience in public finance management, policy development, institutional capacity-building, and advancing socioeconomic and fiscal justice.
Siyanda Baduza is a Junior Basic Income Researcher at IEJ. He holds a BSc in Economics and Mathematics, an Honours degree in Applied Development Economics, and is currently completing a Master’s degree in Applied Development Economics at the University of the Witwatersrand. Siyanda’s research focuses on the impacts of social grants on wellbeing, with a particular focus on the gendered dynamics of this impact. His interests include applied micro-economics, policy impact evaluation, labour markets, gender economics, and political economy. He is passionate about translating economic research into impactful policy.
Shikwane is a Junior Programme Officer at IEJ focusing on civil society support and global governance in the G20. He has a background in legal compliance, IT contracting and student activism. He holds degrees in Political Studies and International Relations, as well as an LLB, from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Dr Tsega is a Senior Researcher focusing on Women’s Economic Empowerment within the G20. She examines gender equity in economic policy, with expertise in food systems and small enterprise development. She holds a PhD in development studies from the University of the Western Cape, an MA in Development Economics, and degrees in Development Studies and Economics from UNISA and Addis Ababa University.
Nerissa is a G20 Junior Researcher at IEJ, focusing on advancing civil society priorities within the G20 framework. She bridges data, research, and policy to advance inclusive economic frameworks. She is completing a Master’s in Data Science (e-Science) at the University of the Witwatersrand, and holds Honours and Bachelor’s Degrees in International Relations with distinction. She has worked as a Research Fellow at SAIIA and a Visiting Research Fellow at Ipea in Brazil.
Dr Mzwanele is a Senior Researcher supporting South Africa’s G20 Sherpa with policy research. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Birmingham and an MSc from the University of the Witwatersrand. His work covers open macroeconomics, trade, finance, and higher education policy, and he has published widely on inequality, unemployment, household debt and higher education curriculum reform.
Kamal is the Project Lead for IEJ’s G20 work, focusing on sovereign debt and development finance. He holds a BComm (Hons) in Applied Development Economics from the University of the Witwatersrand and an Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in Economic Policies for the Global Transition. He has worked with SCIS, UNCTAD and co-founded Rethinking Economics for Africa.