The government has announced that the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, popularly known as the R350 grant, will be increased to R370 from April this year.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced this in the National Assembly on Wednesday. He said the increase comes after President Cyril Ramphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) in February.
Comprehensive social security programme
“His excellency, the president, in his State of the Nation Address, said that the [SRD grant] is going to continue, and the R350 will be improved. My colleague, the Minister of Social Development, is going to publish for comments a comprehensive social security programme. And that… will define a better platform and a future for the social security net in South Africa.
“I am pleased to say that we have found consensus that in between, we’ll increase the R350 to R370 by the 1st of April this year. That is part of the progressive realisation of the basic rights of our people,” he said. He added that this is subject to the finalisation of the comprehensive social security [programme].
In the Budget Speech delivered in February, Godongwana had announced that social grants across the board are set to increase over the course of 2024.
Increase across the board
The increases to be implemented during this year are as follows:
- An increase of R100 for the older people, war veterans, disability, and care dependency grants. This amount will be divided into R90 effective from April and R10 effective October;
- A R50 increase to the foster care grant; and
- A R20 increase to the child support grant.
“We are sensitive to the increase in the cost of living for the nearly 19 million South Africans who rely on these grants to make ends meet. In this regard, we have done as much as the fiscal envelope allows,” Godongwana said at the time.
- SAnews.gov.za
