During the State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa answered the calls of so many South Africans when he announced that the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant of R350 will be extended.
But wait, it gets better. The Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) will be extended as well.
The R350 grant which saw applications close on 31 January will now be extended for a further three months
The TERS fund will be extended until 15 March. This extension is only for those sectors that have not been able to operate, the President explained.
During his address, Ramaphosa said that after having ongoing discussions with government's social partners in business and labour over the last few months, they then proposed that some of the social and economic relief provided should be extended.
We have therefore decided to extend the period of the Special COVID-19 Grant of R350 ... We have also decided to extend the COVID-19 TERS benefit.
The extension of these relief measures will surely be making a huge difference in the livelihoods of vulnerable South Africans with the President acknowledging this as well.
He said, "This has proven to be an effective and efficient short-term measure to reduce the immediate impact on the livelihoods of poor South Africans".
Further details on these extensions will be given once consultations with social partners are concluded.
These announcements by the President brought about a round of applause from those in attendance and as he finished up his speech, cries of 'Long live Ramaphosa' were heard.
