Another SRD grant extension planned amid basic income grant delays in South Africa

By Ali Bahati Juma

See original post here.

Consultations and workshops are holding up a basic income grant in South Africa.

The government is inching closer to potentially introducing a basic income grant in South Africa – but more consultations are needed before a revised policy is presented to the Cabinet.

This emerged during a briefing by the Department of Social Development (DSD) to Parliament’s portfolio committee on social development on Wednesday (4 June).

Update on basic income grant

DSD presented a first draft of its basic income support policy to the Social Protection, Community and Human Development (SPCHD) Cluster Cabinet Committee in November 2024.

However, the Committee “directed that further consultations on the policy be held with internal stakeholders, focusing on affordability of the policy and linkages of its proposed beneficiaries with economic opportunities,” DSD said in a statement.

DSD subsequently held an interdepartmental workshop and is scheduled to hold another one this month. This will be followed by bilateral engagements with the Presidency, the Department of Employment and Labour, and National Treasury.

“Once the consultations are concluded, the Department will approach the SPCHD Cabinet Committee again in the second quarter of the 2025/26 financial year to request Cabinet to consider the revised policy, and if approved, publish it for public comments,” DSD explained.

SRD grant extension

It is therefore unlikely that the government will adopt the basic income grant policy before the start of the 2026/27 financial year because of the required legislative processes.

DSD therefore said it would consult National Treasury on the possibility of extending the R370 social relief of distress (SRD) grant, which is set to end in March 2026.

Brenda Sibeko, DSD’s Deputy Director-General of Comprehensive Social Security, acknowledged the delays in implementing the basic income support policy.

However, it was necessary to ensure that the policy is financially sustainable, evidence-based and aligned with broader economic objectives, she told the portfolio committee.

“Once you make the grant permanent, it must be budgeted for every year. There’s competition for different government interventions and the social grants are one of those,” Sibeko explained.

Social Development Minister Nokuzola Tolashe also said the policy needs to “withstand the test of time,” including potential court challenges.

“So, if we say the basic income grant will start in 2026, in earnest, it will start so that we don’t have to withdraw it because the processes weren’t followed,” she explained.

This post was originally published on Basic Income Today.