Africa-Press – South-Africa. The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has revealed it spends about R266bn annually supporting more than 19-million families who rely on social grants.
Sassa acting CEO Themba Matlou said this during the department of social development’s commemoration of International Day of Families in Cape Town on Thursday.
Matlou emphasised the importance of collaboration with other departments.
“Our work is strengthened by collaboration with various departments — most notably the department of health, especially in administering income support through the disability grant,” he said.
“Our colleagues at the department of home affairs have emphasised the importance of child support. Sassa remains committed to being present at the doorstep, ensuring that all eligible children are registered and included within the social security net.”
During the March budget presentation, the government increased its spending on social grants by R8.2bn over the next three years.
Social development minister Sisisi Tolashe highlighted the significance of families as fundamental units of humanity.
“As a democratic government we have delivered on policies that are family orientated for the past 31 years. We have built houses that accommodate families, not single sex hostels, to allow people to move in as families when they move to the cities for employment opportunities.
“We have provided free basic services like primary health care, water and sanitation. Even the social grants we provide are meant to augment the household income.”
Tolashe noted that family structures have changed over the past 20 years, citing statistics from the General Household Survey of 2023. The survey found that 19% of children lived with neither of their biological parents, 31.5% lived with both parents, 45.4% with their mothers, 12.3% of children were orphaned, having lost one or both parents, 39.2% of households were two-generation households, while 13.9% contained at least three generations.
“The families as we knew them 20 years ago have changed drastically. In strengthening our policies, we need to engage with this reality.”
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