From SRD grants to sustainable income: Ramaphosa’s plan for unemployment and poverty

The government has plans to address unemployment and poverty, President Cyril Ramaphosa said during his Opening of Parliament address at Cape Town’s City Hall on Thursday night.

In May 2020, the government introduced a special Covid-19 SRD grant for the unemployed during the country’s hard lockdown.

Initially intended as a temporary measure, the SRD grant has now been extended and increased. It will continue until March 2025.

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During his budget speech earlier this year, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana increased the SRD grant from R350 to R370.

“I am pleased to say that we have found consensus that, in the meantime, subject to the finalisation of the comprehensive social security program, we will increase the R350 to R370 by 1 April this year. That is part of the progressive realization of the basic rights of our people,” he said at the time.

This move is part of the government’s effort to fulfill the president’s promise in his State of the Nation Address to improve the grant towards a permanent solution.

Poverty, unemployment and SRD grant

However, Ramaphosa emphasised that the current approach was not sustainable and highlighted the government’s plans for permanent solutions.

“Income poverty is one of the underlying causes of poverty,” Ramaphosa said.

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“The best way to address poverty is by providing people with jobs. We have made interventions to support the unemployed through various measures, including during Covid when we introduced the SRD Grant.

“The SRD grant has provided a lifeline to millions of unemployed people.

“We will use this grant as a basis for introducing a sustainable form of income support to address the challenge of income poverty.

“We must ensure that local governments properly implement the indigent policy so that the elderly, the infirm, and the poor receive assistance with basic service payments.”

Ramaphosa’s government would link social assistance with other forms of support to help lift people out of poverty.

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The president is also working to address asset poverty, which he said exacerbates the high cost of living.

“The provision of title deeds for land and subsidized housing provides people with assets that they can use to improve their economic position,” he said.