Although the recipients of the award cannot survive off of it, it does enable them to purchase a few necessities each month. Which prompts many to ask whether the R350 grant will be increased, particularly in light of the recent rise in the cost of living.
The Special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) award would be increased, according to Lindiwe Zulu, Minister of the Department of Social Development, who told eNCA in an interview that she was working on it. The department might not, however, have the money to enhance the grant.
“We don’t have the money but we have to find the money,” said the minister.
The Department of Social Development introduced the grant to help those who were losing their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. By providing these individuals with some financial support they were able to stay afloat in a very troubling time.
With the help of the Special Covid-19 SRD grant, people are able to buy a few essentials. Although the grant is available to all in need, many are excluded even though they live below the poverty line and this is due to applicable restrictions.
As living expenses increase, their financial circumstances become worse. This results in people having to sacrifice many essentials because they need to use the grant sparingly.
More than 10 million people applied for the first round of Special Covid-19 SRD grant applications, which showed that many people in the country were in desperate need of financial assistance.
The minister acknowledged that R350 was not enough for people to live off, but stated that “we needed it to put something in the hands of those who need it”. Zulu hopes to have the basic income grant implemented because it may help many people cope with the cost of living.
