During his State of the Union address in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa almost gave the go-ahead for a basic income grant in 2025 in his speech. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was then scheduled to further elaborate on the key points of the 2025 basic income subsidy in his budget speech two weeks ago.
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The latter speech at least announced new social grant increases, with the South African Social Security Agency finalizing all grant payment dates until March 2025, but the topic of the 2025 basic income grant remained open. Remains resolved.
Basic income subsidy in 2025
Originally created as social distress relief (SRD) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has paid the following amounts: 8 million South Africans are paid a monthly stipend of R350. According to the IOL report, this scheme for deprived and unemployed youth will be the backbone of the 2025 basic income subsidy.
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During a media briefing this week (1 March 2024) to discuss the African National Congress' election manifesto, Mr Zulu said of the progress on the 2025 basic income subsidy: “Transitioning the SRD to a basic income subsidy should not be considered in isolation from the overall comprehensive social security for South Africans. We confirm that we will continue to pay the R350 SRD subsidy until March 2025. ” said Zulu.
committee meeting
Regarding progress on President Cyril Ramaphosa's promised 2025 basic income subsidy, Zulu said the ministry would return to the Party and Social Transformation Committee to explore the way forward. However, research on economic growth and youth employment growth still needs to be done and should be a top priority. She said her department focuses on youth because they receive her SRD grants.
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“Not only are we considering paying out the basic income subsidy in 2025, we are also part of a government that is looking for solutions to grow the economy and connect subsidy recipients to economic opportunity. When the (ANC) came to power, there was a period when the economy was bad. But we did not leave our people vulnerable,” Zulu said.
Increase rapidly
Additionally, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that South Africa would spend. R260 billion Social welfare predictions for 2025. this is, 3.6% of our total GDP. So how much R350 SRD should be raised to create a basic income subsidy in 2025? Many civil rights organizations, such as the Social Policy Initiative, argue that: R1,000～R1,500 For active job seekers, monthly payment is sufficient.
Also read: Good news: SASSA grant increase for April 2024
Additionally, by October 2024, SASSA grants will increase to:
- R100: Elderly, Veterans, Disability, and Care Dependency.
- R50: Nursing home.
- R20: Child support.
- R0: Social Distress Relief (Unchanged).
Read next: Basic Information: March 2024 SASSA Seniors Grant
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