Lindiwe Zulu denies child grant payments will be increased during Covid-19

Responding to a question from the media at a ministerial briefing on Tuesday in Pretoria, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said there had been no decision to increase the amounts paid to beneficiaries during the lockdown to ease financial strain.

The question had in particular been about increasing the amount for the child grant, which will stand at R445 from April 2020.

Zulu said: “I attend all Central Command Council meetings and there was no decision about that.”

The journalist had told the minister he had been reliably informed about the move, but Zulu responded that she would call the person in question to discuss it further if needed and rectify any misconceptions.

Zulu further denied that any decision to test people for the coronavirus at Sassa paypoints had been taken.

When posed a question about how the billions pledged to the Solidarity Fund would be dispensed, Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu argued that this did not fall under Zulu’s department.

The minister had earlier outlined measures her department was putting in place to try to ensure that grant beneficiaries were not exposed to the same kinds of risks they had been on Monday, which saw long queues and people rushing to paypoints in crowds.

“Social distancing compliance and application of hygiene guidance was lacking yesterday,” admitted Zulu. “In most areas of the country, things were looking better [on Tuesday].”

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