Calls For SASSA Grants To Increase Continue
SASSA was increased R30 increase for the old age to R1890. See others below
SASSA is probably receiving many requests in their inbox right now. From calls for the R350 grant to be extended to requests for other SASSA grants to be increased, this seems to be a dire need for vulnerable South Africans.
Citizens are now calling for SASSA and Government to increase the Child Support Grant. The grants were increased last year but not by much with many saying it did not help enough.
The Children’s Institute and the Centre for Child Law (CCL) are therefore asking government to increase the child grant by R10.
You might think R10 is a small amount but Zita Hansungule, Project Coordinator for Research and Advocacy for the Centre For Child Law explained:
R10 makes quite a significant difference when you’re looking at the groups of vulnerable people that receive this amount of money … Just increasing it by R10 would allow it to go just above food inflation prices. At the moment, it is just below.
The child grant is said to benefit over 10 million children in South Africa, the largest in South Africa, and is currently set at R460.
They continued to say that the grant is below the poverty line as well and that, “At the moment, the child support grant has received the smallest increase in a long time. ”
Hansungule reiterated that the grant affords children access to basic rights and services such as food, healthcare, and schooling. This grant is accessed mostly by single mothers.
Such a small amount of money goes a long way for children who are in vulnerable situations … it’s impact should not be underestimated.
For this increase to happen, government will need to allocate R1 billion but Hansugule says this is an important step to make and that initial budget analysis showed that the grant was in line to be increased, which it normally is.
From April, social grants administered by SASSA were increased. The increases were as follows:
- R30 increase for the old age to R1890
- R30 increase for the disability grant to R1890
- R30 increase for the care dependency grants to R1890
- R30 increase in the war veterans grant to R1910
- R15 increase in the child support grant to R460
- R10 increase for the foster care grant to R1050
A large number of South Africans depend on social grants to survive and these South Africans were disappointed when they heard how much grants were being increased.
