Half of South Africa’s households receive social grants, according to the latest General Household Survey.

Released by Stats SA on Tuesday, the survey found that grants reached 39.5% of individuals and 50.6% of households in 2025, while 24.4% of households relied on grants as their main source of income.

The increase in grant coverage accelerated after the introduction of the special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant in 2020, which was initially designed to temporarily cushion income losses during the pandemic.

ALSO READ: Cele, Tolashe among five ANC members to face disciplinary action

Salaries and wages remained the main income source for 54.3% of households, but the figures show how heavily South Africa’s tax-funded safety net is supporting households in an economy that has struggled to generate jobs and income.

The survey tracks basic service delivery, healthcare, education, agriculture, household composition, income, food access, water, sanitation, energy,

Subscribe to read the full article.

The post Grants sustain half of SA households – Stats SA appeared first on Inside Metros.

Johannesburg has secured new international and domestic funding to advance a waste-to-energy programme intended to bolster fiscal recovery while cutting landfill pressure, Mayor Dada Morero announced this week.

He said the city had concluded discussions to obtain additional funding over three years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29, “through a grant of €27.5 million (about R550 million) from Invest International, a Dutch development finance institution, alongside a R1.6 billion allocation from the National Treasury’s Budget Facility for Infrastructure”.

“These funds will support the implementation of the Alternative Waste Treatment Technology project,” he said, which will convert over 500,000 tons of waste a year into renewable electricity.

“It will create jobs, stimulate local industry, and reduce pressure on our landfills.”

Morero said the collaboration between the city and the Netherlands was “a shining example of how international cooperation can help cities overcome developmental and environmental challenges while advancing the global

Subscribe to read the full article.

The post CoJ secures R2.1 billion for waste-to-energy project appeared first on Inside Metros.