social relief of distress grantlatest news & developments
The future of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant beyond the March 2027 extension remains uncertain. Archive photo: Chris Gilili

Future of SRD grant uncertain, treasury says

The Universal Basic Income Coalition said the government’s proposals to link the grant to employment-related conditions could exclude eligible beneficiaries

  • Eyaaz
3 min read
Members of the ANC give testimony in Cape Town about human rights abuses committed during apartheid. (File photograph by Gallo Images/ Oryx Media Archive).

Three developments in January place unequal democracy back on the road to justice

The Expropriation Bill was signed into law; the families of victims of apartheid-era human rights violations want to know why the TRC recommendations haven’t been implemented, and the court has ordered that shortfalls in social grants be addressed

  • Eyaaz
3 min read
The tragedy of miners trapped underground and the police’s Operation Vala Umgodi is an all-time low for human rights – the government of national unity must act now

Stilfontein miners: ‘It was not an illness that killed them. It was starvation’

The tragedy of miners trapped underground and the police’s Operation Vala Umgodi is an all-time low for human rights – the government of national unity must act now

  • Eyaaz
7 min read
The number of SRD applications has been growing steadily since its introduction in 2020. The 17 million applications mark was passed three months ago, but the real story is that the number of grants approved has not grown in a long time.

SA’s poor urgently need a decent universal basic income grant

The decision to provide a grant of R1 634, the upper bound poverty line, rests in the hands of the elite

  • Eyaaz
8 min read
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa arrives at the African National Congress party manifesto launch in Durban, South Africa, on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Photo: Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg via Getty Images

It’s okay for ‘our people’ to buy beer with R350 grant, says Ramaphosa

The president said the minister of finance was consulting with social development about possibly increasing the social relief of distress grant

  • Des Erasmus
4 min read
A vendor counts out rand banknotes while working in an African craft market in South Africa. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg

Basic income grant: Peering beyond the endless impossibilities

South Africa’s economy has stagnated and policymakers ought to be looking for solutions that move us forward

  • Umamah Bakharia
5 min read
The government will extend the social relief of distress grant until 2025. Photo: Pieter Bauermeister/AFP

Social relief of distress grant extended until 2025

But Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says beyond that mark, a comprehensive review of all welfare grants is needed

  • Emsie Ferreira
2 min read
The African Development Bank (AfDB) says South Africa’s well-developed financial sector has the potential to be the continent’s powerhouse.

The Fiscal Cliff | Is South Africa nearing a debt crisis?

The real issue is that the February 2023 budget was the least credible assessment of the country’s finances since 1994

  • Umamah Bakharia
8 min read