PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday that the Social Relief of Distress Grant of R350 will be reinstated until March 2022.
In a live address to the nation on Sunday, Ramaphosa also announced a range of measures to support the recovery of the economy, and provide relief to the poor, and those who are vulnerable as a result of the measures government had to impose to deal with COVID-19 crisis.
“To support those who have no means of supporting themselves, we are reinstating the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to provide a monthly payment of R350 until the end of March 2022,” he said.
“This has been made possible by the slight improvement we have seen in our revenue collection.”
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=InsidePolitics8&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1419372414006349824&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Finsidepolitic.co.za%2Fr350-covid-19-special-relief-grant-reinstated-until-march-2022-says-ramaphosa%2F&sessionId=f6e93b06bfdb3b546a8251ad4a356ba818c9c6a1&siteScreenName=InsidePolitics8&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px The number of people who are eligible for the R350 grant has been expanded by allowing unemployed caregivers who currently receive a Child Support Grant to apply.
Ramaphosa said details on the reinstatement of the grant, including the process for application, will be announced in the next coming days.
The grant formed part of the R500 billion economic and social relief measures announced by Ramaphosa in April last year, as part of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This will build on the strength of our existing social protection system, which is one of the greatest achievements of our democracy,” said Ramaphosa.
“In addition to the food relief being provided by the Department of Social Development, government is contributing R400 million to the Humanitarian Crisis Relief Fund established by the Solidarity Fund to assist with the immediate needs of affected communities.”
The Department of Social Development, through its agency South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has paid out R21-billion to approximately 6.5 million beneficiaries so far.
After more than R16 billion was paid to approximately 6.5 million monthly SRD recipients since May last year, the SRD expired in January 2021.
In recent months, civil society groups appealed to the president and Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu to extend the SRD from R350 to R585 until it is turned into Basic Income Grant.
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=InsidePolitics8&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1419378657966051335&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Finsidepolitic.co.za%2Fr350-covid-19-special-relief-grant-reinstated-until-march-2022-says-ramaphosa%2F&sessionId=f6e93b06bfdb3b546a8251ad4a356ba818c9c6a1&siteScreenName=InsidePolitics8&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px Meanwhile, Ramaphosa said on Sunday night that government was working on a support package for small businesses, formal and informal, who are uninsured and who were impacted by the riots in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Ramaphosa added that government was also implementing measures to help businesses to rebuild.
He said the most immediate need was to ensure that those businesses that were damaged or looted were able to rebuild and reopen as quickly as possible.
Businesses that are insured will be covered by the state-owned insurance company South African Special Risk Insurance Association (SASRIA), said Ramaphosa.
“We are one of the few countries in the world to have a state-owned insurance company, SASRIA, which provides cover against incidents of public violence, strikes, riots and unrest.
“SASRIA has committed to expedite the payment of all valid claims, and is working together with private insurers to ensure that assessments are completed without delay.”
He said government would ensure that SASRIA was able to honour all of its obligations and would provide whatever support was necessary in this regard.
“In addition, however, some businesses that were victims of this violence may not have been insured. This includes many small and medium-sized businesses, whether formal or informal,” said Ramaphosa.
“Many of these businesses have lost everything, and will not be able to rebuild on their own. We will not abandon them in their time of need. We are therefore working to extend support to uninsured businesses that were affected by the violence.”
He added that government will also be reprioritising funding for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) affected by the pandemic through a once-off business survival funding mechanism.
“We are also working with large business to determine their contribution to the support of SMMEs, job creation and eradication of hunger and poverty,” he said.
“Two weeks ago, we announced that the COVID-19 TERS scheme would be extended for those sectors which were affected by Alert Level 4 restrictions during the past 28 days.”
Applications for this period are open and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) will facilitate payments as quickly as possible to support workers who have not received an income.
“Most importantly, the UIF will provide income support to all those employees who have lost jobs as a result of the recent unrest. This will ensure that jobs are protected and that workers can continue to earn an income as those businesses take time to rebuild,” he said.
“While the TERS scheme has provided crucial support for many sectors that have been unable to operate, there is a need to provide even further relief to help businesses to recover. We are therefore expanding the Employment Tax Incentive for a period of four months to include any employee earning below R6 500 and to increase the incentive amount by up to R750 per month.”
This will encourage employers to hire and retain employees, especially those in the retail and hospitality sectors which have been worst affected, said Ramaphosa.
“We will also defer payment of PAYE taxes for a period of three months to provide businesses with additional cash flow, with an automatic deferral of 35 per cent of PAYE liabilities for employers with revenue below R100 million,” he said.
“The payment of excise taxes by the alcohol sector will be deferred for a period of three months, to ease the burden on the sector as it recovers. These interventions are designed to extend as much relief as possible to individuals and businesses that are in need of support, without compromising our fiscal sustainability.”
- Inside Metros