Why Government Has Not Increased The R350 Grant
Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grants provide crucial relief to millions of unemployed South Africans. Every month, beneficiaries can purchase basic goods and services with the grant. Every month, beneficiaries of the SRD grant receive R350. Since the grant was introduced in 2020, beneficiaries have received the same amount of money.
It was recently revealed in a question to parliament that the government wanted to increase the amount of money beneficiaries of the R350 grant receive. The grant, however, has not been increased. The government was unable to increase the value of the SRD grant, according to Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu. This was due to fiscal constraints, they explained.
Since the grant was introduced in 2020, the Department of Social Development (DSD) is concerned that its value has not increased. Inflation has decreased the buying power of R350.
- Since the grant value has not increased in line with inflation, the grant value decreases every year as inflation increases.
A proposal was submitted by the DSD to the National Treasury to increase the value of the SRD grant. Fiscal constraints, however, prevented the proposal from being considered favorably.
