Government planned to extend SRD grant until 2026 in lifeline for vulnerable communities

19 Feb 2025

Had Budget 2025 been announced, permanent social grants would have seen increases above inflation, while the COVID-19 social relief of distress grant would remain in place for another year.

In a bid to support the “poor and vulnerable” the temporary social relief of distress (SRD) grant was to be extended until March 2026, with provincial allocations in 2026/27 and 2027/28.

Arthur Kamp, the chief economist at Sanlam Investments, pointed out that as per a recent court ruling (currently on appeal), there may need to be a material increase in the number of SRD grant recipients, with less stringent criteria applied.

“Attention is also being drawn to the amount of the grant itself. Increasing the number of recipients implies higher spending of more than R30-billion a year if implemented in future years. Neither of these spending risks are expected to influence the Treasury’s near-term expenditure projections, but the medium to long-term risk lingers,” he said.

But this has been put on pause after the announcement of the budget was postponed until March 12. This was as a result of parties in the GNU apparently been unable to reach consensus on a move by Treasury to increase VAT by 2 percentage points.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwane's budget documents indicate that R35.2-billion had been set aside to continue the SRD grant until 31 March 2026, with the number of recipients projected to increase from 19 million in 2025/26 to 19.3 million in 2027/28.

In his prepared speech that he did not deliver, Godongwana stated that: “As announced by the president in the State of the Nation Address, the Covid-19 SRD grant will be used as a basis for the introduction of a sustainable form of income support for unemployed people. The future form of the Covid-19 SRD grant will be informed by the outcome of the review of active market progress,” he said.

R427-billion had been set aside for social development with old-age grants taking the lion’s share.

How the allocation would translate for recipients if it goes ahead:

Old age grant — R150 more at R2,335

War veterans grant — R150 more at R2,355

Disability grant — R150 more at R2,335

Foster care grant — R80 more at R1,260

Care dependency grant — R150 more at R2,335

Child support grant — R50 more at R580

Grant-in-aid — R50 more at R580

The struggle continues

The intended increase in social grants would bring a bit of relief to millions of families. But for Madimakatso Mokoloko, a 36-year-old mother of six from the Free State, the increase would hardly cut it.

“As a mother of six, I struggle to make ends meet with the current grant. The children’s grants alone don’t cover their costs, and with R370 I can barely cover the basics — maize meal and electricity. There's nothing left for toiletries or transport to look for work. I hope the grant will increase, at least to R700, to help me provide for my family’s needs,” she told Daily Maverick.DM

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How the allocation would translate for recipients if it goes ahead:

The struggle continues