During the COVID 19 lockdowns, the Social Relieve of Distress (SRD) grant was established to help those without a source of income. According to Linton Mchunu, the department’s acting director-general, 31% of South Africans rely on social grants.
According to the Social Development Department, the report from the expert panel will shortly be presented to Parliament. The department claims in the report on the nation’s basic income support that the SRD grant caused no harm to the economy and the government’s finances and should be made permanent.
Director General Linton Mchunu of the agency stated, “We are moving considerably closer to the realization of a basic income grant. The first report looked at whether or not to implement the basic income grant; today’s report looks at the various implementation options. Previously, the debate had focused on how best to implement the grant. This study starts to answer some of the many questions that have been raised”.
According to Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, the Social Relief of Distress grant has been underspent by around R2 billion. According to Zulu, this was brought on by the need for verifying bank accounts. The program offers financial aid to the unemployed who were seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The minister claims that a significant number of applications were turned down as a result of insufficient bank information verification.
