Johannesburg – There are growing calls for the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress and Caregiver grants to be extended.
Some civil society organisations also want the R350 grant to be increased to R585.
The Institute for Economic Justice warns discontinuation of the grants will lead to a humanitarian crisis.
“imagine that a grant of R350, for a month, has to get an unemployed person and their dependents through, it’s unbelievable to imagine the struggles that people have. A caregiver’s grant is R500,” said Neil Coleman from the institute.
“These are tiny amounts introduced by the government when the COVID lockdown hit, under the assumption that six months later, (which is how long the grants were set for) the economy would have bounced back and these people would have been able to improve their living standards.
“All the research shows the effects of the lockdown continue to be devastating for many, many people.”
Coleman estimates almost 13-million South Africans are grant recipients – not including dependants – and if it is not dealt with, will lead to nationwide humanitarian crisis.
