BusinessLive reports that the Department of Social Development (DSD) is working on a proposal to extend the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant until the government finalises a basic income grant.

“We are engaging different departments, including the Treasury, around how to address the continuing income need after the end of the financial year,” deputy director-general for comprehensive social security Brenda Sibeko advised. The National Council of Provinces received a briefing from the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) on Tuesday on the R350 grant that will end this financial year. In his state of the nation address (Sona) in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he would be extending the R350 grant until March 2023 and that the government was working on a more permanent plan. The government introduced the grant in 2020 to help people who lost their livelihoods during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sibeko indicated: “The consideration is how to create a direct basic income support programme for people and that’s what the department is working on. Decisions have not been made yet, but one of the things we are taking cognisance of is that even if the policy gets approved, we still need to write the legislation and that takes time. So one of the things we have proposed is that the grant should be continued beyond this financial year while we get the final policy and legislative processes in place.”

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Amanda Khoza at BusinessLive
• Read too, R350 grant: New rules mean beneficiaries cannot 'unreasonably refuse' employment or training, at News24

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page