The R350 social relief of distress grant (SRD) will be reinstated until March 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday night.
And in further good news, South Africans can buy alcohol again after a nearly-month ban.
Ramaphosa said the country is now at “adjusted level 3” – while announcing alcohol can be sold from Monday to Thursday from 10am to 6pm – for that very South African phrase “off-site” consumption, or a bottle store.
Restaurants – or “on-site” sales – can sell alcohol from Monday until 8pm, as per their licence conditions.
Ramaphosa said the latest Covid figures suggested the third wave had peaked “though there are some areas in the country where we still need to be concerned”.
The nationwide curfew remains from 10pm to 4am. Restaurants, bars, taverns, and fitness centres can open and must close by 9pm.
Ramaphosa said the extension of the R350 grant would “build on the strength of our existing social protection system, which is one of the greatest achievements of our democracy”.
“No country can expect its economy to grow, or to live in peace and harmony, while many of its citizens remain marginalised, hungry and excluded.”
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) will administer the R350 grant, which will also be extended to unemployed caregivers who receive child support grants.
This is a big change because this grant was previously not available to anyone who received support from the government.
A “slight improvement in [tax] revenue collection” will fund the R350 grant, Ramaphosa said. The South African Revenue Service said in April it had collected R38 billion more than estimated in its February budget.
Meanwhile, vaccines will be available to people aged 18 and older from September 1.
The President said the country was now administering more than 240,000 vaccines every weekday. A month ago, this figure stood at around 100,000. He said the existing supply pipeline gives enough vaccine doses for the rest of the year.
