Africa-Press – South-Africa. Social grants benefit not only the recipients of those grants, but society as a whole, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said in his weekly newsletter.
Ramaphosa also said it was “one of the greatest achievements of our democratic society” that 18 million people were now receiving social grants.
Ramaphosa wrote that the right to social security was explicit in the Bill of Rights. He said this approach recognised that social security was essential for the realisation of other rights, like 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. In 1999, just over 2.5 million people were receiving social grants. Today that number has increased to over 18 million people,” Ramaphosa wrote.
Furthermore, more than two million indigent households also receive free basic water, basic electricity and solid waste removal services.
While some have criticised the increased number of people receiving social grants as an indication of government’s failure to uplift people out of a situation where they need government assistance, Ramaphosa disputes this.
He said:
According to Ramaphosa, the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant that was introduced in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic reached more than 11 million people at its peak and “has lifted millions of people out of food poverty”.
He said research indicated that about 50% of the purchases from the SRD grants were for groceries.
“Social grants also act as a stimulus for the economy as a whole, increase spending in townships and rural areas, and improve employment outcomes,” Ramaphosa added.
He said the SRD grant also increased the probability of recipients searching for jobs and gaining employment. According to him, many participants of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Initiative have gone on to find work.
“In all of these ways, South Africa’s world-renowned social protection system provides important benefits for many in our society, not only those who receive social grants,” Ramaphosa wrote.
“It supports economic growth from the bottom up, enables business activity, and strengthens social solidarity and stability. It is one of the greatest achievements of our democratic society, and one that we should all be proud of.”
According to Ramaphosa, government is working on “options to provide basic income support for the unemployed, within our fiscal constraints”, when the SRD grant expires in April 2024.
“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,” Ramaphosa said.
“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.”
He said this was why government’s economic policy was guided by the need to implement structural reforms to stimulate growth and enhance economic competitiveness, but also expanding social protection and public employment and supporting the social wage.
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