In the 2021 financial year, the Department of Social Development (DSD) made provision for a R44 billion allocation to cater for 11 million beneficiaries per month.
However, since April 2022 the department had a slow uptake of 5 million beneficiaries which increased to 7.5 million beneficiaries per month.
The National Treasury indicated to the DSD that the funds that were allocated cannot be used for other purposes even though the DSD attempted to explain that the country is in poverty and that they require the reallocation of the funds.
National Treasury refused the request and said that they will need to reallocate the money to other departments as the fiscus is constrained.
In September 2022, the DSD adjusted the estimates for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant which was reduced by R6 billion. In the same period, National Treasury determined that the beneficiary payments were not up to par and R3.7 bilion was taken because of fiscus constraints.
The DSD tried to appeal this reallocation by stating it required the funds for other DSD programmes but the request was declined and the amount given back to fiscus was R9.7 billion. The DSD said that it did not have any control over this.
The SRD grant was first introduced in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic for unemployed people to assist them in providing for their needs while they were unable to work during the lockdown.
The DSD stated that it had to implement these grants widely due to the circumstances at the time, but after the pandemic the DSD wanted to continue with the grant but in a way that was fiscally responsible and sustainable in the long term.
This meant that the DSD had to make the qualification criteria stricter so that the grant was only offered to those who are the most vulnerable but the department states that the tightening of qualification criteria was an instruction given to them.
Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu has urged the public to use the R350 grant usefully and if they can change their own lives.
