Lungani Zungu
R27 billion! This is how much it’s going to cost the government to pay millions of unemployed South Africans the R350 social relief grants until March next year.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced on Wednesday that the Treasury would fork out R27 billion from the already struggling public purse to foot the bill.
Only unemployed people are ineligible for the grant.
Mboweni said the rollout of payments to all qualifying recipients would begin soon.
He was convinced by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s negotiating skills to release the billions needed for the social relief grant.
He shot down claims that his reintroduction of the grant was a ploy to woo voters to vote for the ANC, ahead of the local government elections. They are likely to be held next February.
He said he did not get any pressure from his own party.
“Any caring government will come to the support of its citizens. There was no pressure from the governing party,” he said during a virtual media briefing.
Sihle Ngcobo, an unemployed 29-year-old man from Umlazi, welcome the reintroduction of the grant.
“I am happy. But this grant should not be terminated in the future because it is a huge relief for unemployed young people like me.”
EFF leader Julius Malema shared the same sentiments.
During his party’s eight-year celebrations, he said they had warned the ANC-led government against stopping the grant.
Simo Buthelezi, an unemployed nursing graduate in Durban, told Scrolla.Africa that he would use the grant to print CVs and apply for jobs.
“I finished my studies four years ago, but I’m still unemployed,” he said.
He pleaded with the government not to stop the grant.
“Some people desperately need this grant to put food on the table for their families.”
The question is where the government would get the money to sustain such a grant.
Economist Dawie Roodt has previously told Scrolla.Africa it would be sustainable if Ramaphosa trimmed his bloated cabinet.
The billions the government lost to corruption could be channelled to this grant, if the government rooted out graft.
Apart from the billions for the R350 grants, the Treasury has to find the R616 million to pay the army which was deployed to Gauteng and KZN following the deadly unrest two weeks ago.
