The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) eagerly awaits the outcome of the Special Relief Dispensation (SRD) Grant application brought by the Institute for Economic Justice and PayTheGrants that is now before the court.
COSATU has championed for many years a basic income grant (BIG) as a critical intervention to help alleviate our entrenched levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment. The SRD Grant introduced by government led by the African National Congress (ANC) during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, provides a critical foundation for the long sought BIG. Despite all of its challenges, the SRD Grant has been an invaluable lifeline for more than 8 million unemployed persons. We welcome the ANC’s decisive support for this call in its 2024 elections manifesto.
Whilst appreciating this progressive intervention by government, we remain concerned by the difficulties many legitimate applicants experience when applying for and receiving their SRD Grants. We agree that government must ensure fraudulent and corrupt applications and abuses are dealt with, but this needs to be done in a manner that does not inadvertently exclude genuine applicants.
It has been unacceptable that since the SRD Grant was introduced in 2020, it has only once been adjusted for inflation.
We hope that the court application by the Institute for Economic Justice and PayTheGrants will help resolve the current standoff between government and progressive civil society with regards to the criteria and administration of the SRD Grants. It is critical these be resolved, and government ensure that all unemployed persons have access to this lifeline.
It is equally important that the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement due to be tabled at Parliament on 30 October, provides a road map for the SRD Grant to be raised to the food poverty line and transformed into a BIG. Its recipients must also be linked, where possible, to skills development and employment opportunities to help ensure we slash unemployment.
Issued by COSATU.
For further comment please contact:
Matthew Parks
Parliamentary Coordinator
Cell: 082 785 0687
Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za
Cape Town, South Africa
