Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana steered clear of the basic income grant which has dominated public discourse as a possible response to endemic levels of unemployment that currently stand at 34.4%.
It was expected he might give a hint on what stance President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government had taken regarding the proposal that has been advanced by social activists and researchers studying poverty alleviation.
However, the finance minister stuck to his guns and followed suit from an announcement made by his political principal during the State of the Nation Address a week ago.
Godongwana said the Department of Social Development had been allocated R1-trillion over a three-year medium-term framework period. About R44-million of the funds will be set aside for the social relief grant which has been extended until March 2023.
Economists say about R22O billion was needed for the provision of the basic income grant.
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