After a holistic review triggered by concerns raised by stakeholders, the government is set to announce a major boost for child support grant.
It is likely that the current budget of R 77 billion will be increased to benefit some 13 million children through the Child Support Grant, which pays out R510 per child. Specifically, the Foster Care Grant will be able to be paid directly to foster parents, legally appointed guardians, or caregivers for orphaned children, and it will be R 1130, which will increase every six months by R10.
A comprehensive review of child poverty and the value of the Child Support Grant was commissioned by the government in 2021 by the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town.
“In 2020, the Minister of Social Development acknowledged the pressing need to review policy around the CSG”, said the Social Development Department ahead of Friday’s launch of the report.
According to the statement, the review was intended to examine “the growth and expansion of the CSG’s policy process, as well as its impact on child poverty” among other things.
Another major concern among pressure groups in the sector has been stringent requirements for renewal of foster care grants which some stakeholders believe are unreasonable and puts vulnerable children at risk of having their payments disrupted.
The Children’s Institute was itself among entities that challenged the government in court to have the requirements relaxed.
A booklet explaining how to apply for a grant for a child that does not have a birth certificate, or whose caregiver does not have an ID has been created in partnership with the Legal Resources Centre (LRC). In efforts to help children whose guardians do not have identity documents or who do not have birth certificates, the institute says.
Between when the review was instituted in 2021 and now there has also been growing calls by pressure groups representing immigrants, for children of foreign nationals to be accommodated in the country’s social security net. The EFF has called for grant recipients to be exempted from having to pay municipal rates and taxes.
Other than the 13 million children, a further 15 million South Africans receive grants in the categories of; disability, old age and the R 350 introduced as part of government’s response to the covid19 pandemic which has since been extended several times amid calls for it to be made permanent.
As more South Africans languish in poverty amid record unemployment levels, President Cyril Ramaphosa has hinted at the introduction of a Basic Income Grant. “One of the greatest accomplishments of our democracy is the fact that 18 million people receive some type of state grant, but there are still many people who are destitute and have to be cared for”, Ramaphosa said recently in support of a basic income grant.
The Child Poverty and The Child Support Grant (CSG) Review Report is scheduled to be launched on Friday in Johannesburg.