By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD) that was introduced in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic has reached more than 11 million people at its peak.
Ramaphosa used his weekly newsletter to focus on the right to social security, which is explicit in the Bill of Rights. This is an approach that recognises that social security is essential to other rights, including the right to dignity.
It is this right that has underpinned the progressive expansion of South Africa’s social protection system over the past three decades, he said.
In 1999, just over 2.5 million people were receiving social grants. Today, that number has increased to over 18 million people.
In addition, more than two million indigent households also receive free basic water, basic electricity and solid waste removal services as part of this government’s commitment to free basic services for the poor.
Ramaphosa reaffirmed government’s commitment to addressing inequality through means that show real benefits.
“The SRD alone represents a significant step in our commitment to provide a minimum level of support below which no South African should fall. [We] are working on options to provide basic income support for the unemployed, within our fiscal constraints, beyond the expiry of the SRD Grant in April next year. [We] are working on options to provide basic income support for the unemployed, within our fiscal constraints, beyond the expiry of the SRD Grant in April next year.
“If the focus of our struggle for liberation was to end apartheid and achieve political freedom, the focus of our efforts now must be to address inequality and ensure that every South African enjoys the fruits of democracy,” the President said.
Honing in further on inequality, Ramaphosa highlighted that government is making steady progress in addressing the challenge while also implementing reform.
“It is now well recognised that inequality constrains growth, and that growth which takes place in unequal societies tends to reproduce those patterns of inequality.
“This is why our economic policy is guided by the need on the one hand to implement structural reforms to stimulate growth and enhance our economic competitiveness, while on the other hand expanding social protection and public employment and supporting the social wage, Ramaphosa said.