PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that the social relief of distress (SRD) grant will be expanded to create a more sustainable source of income to support the unemployed has been warmly welcomed.
Interest groups said the expansion of the SRD grant should culminate in the implementation of the Basic Income Grant.
Speaking during his State of the Nation Address (SONA), Ramaphosa said the government was providing the means through which South Africans could rise above poverty that has been passed down from one generation to the next.
“We have to do much more if we are to end poverty. We must do much more to ensure that women in particular no longer face a hopeless struggle to feed and clothe their children,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the programmes the government invested heavily to support poor and unemployed people were fragmented and sometimes difficult to access.
“We are therefore building an integrated system of support for poor and unemployed people. We are strengthening existing programmes from job search support to public employment and making sure that together they provide people with pathways out of poverty.”
He said rather than expecting those in need to approach several government agencies separately, a citizen should be able to go to one place to receive all of the support that they need.”
The SRD grant was an essential mechanism for alleviating extreme poverty, he said.
“We will use this grant as a basis for the introduction of a sustainable form of income support for unemployed people.
“Central to our efforts to end poverty and to develop our economy is to provide decent, quality education to every young South African,” Ramaphosa said.
SONA reactions
Cosatu parliamentary councillor Matthews Parks said the labour federation welcomed the government’s commitment to transforming the special relief of dispensation grant into the long sought Basic Income Grant.
“All eligible persons must be enabled to access it. Its participants must be supported to access skills, training, and employment opportunities,” Parks said.
GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron said Ramaphosa’s commitment to use th SRD grant as the basis for a more sustainable social relief mechanism was very important.
“This commitment must translate into the implementation of a Basic Income Grant of at least R999 a month in the next financial year,” he said.