Thread by @PayTheGrants

READ: #PayTheGrants Joint Statement: @PresidencyZA’s #SONA2021 announced a 3 month R350 COVID-19 #SRDGrantExtension but falls short on long term planning for social protection, including a Basic Income Guarantee (#BIG), which should be top priority. iej.org.za/joint-statemen…

The COVID-19 #SRDGrantExtension for the next three months is a relief, as it buys time, but it is short-sighted &, in its current form, excludes Caregivers who are mostly women. The eligibility criteria for this grant must be amended so that caregivers are included! #PayTheGrants

The COVID-19 #SRD grant should be increased to at least the Food Poverty Line of R585 p/m. The economic crisis we face preceded the pandemic & will be long-term. We are therefore long past the instruments of “temporary relief”. #PayTheGrants

More than 2 weeks ago, along with other organisations who work with & represent grant claimants, we wrote to the @PresidencyZA, Ministry @The_DSD & @TreasuryRSA requesting an urgent meeting to table our demands on social relief and grants. We have still not heard back.

Therefore, while we welcome the short extension, we must also state that the @GovernmentZA's carelessness towards those who are most marginalised is evident in the failure to communicate timeously and consistently. #PayTheGrants

@PresidencyZA said he would “prioritise the economic empowerment of women” but by ending the Caregiver grants & not allowing caregivers to apply for the SRD grants, @GovernmentZA is saying to poor black women who have been the worst affected by the pandemic: You are on your own.

Worse, hundreds of organizations have been calling for the inclusion of caregivers for months. c19peoplescoalition.org.za/joint-statemen… #PayTheGrants

@GovernmentZA can afford to include caregivers & increase the SRD grant to at least the Food Poverty Line of R585 pp/pm. We note this especially in light of @IEJ_SA adjusted scorecard on government spending which shows that only 1/3 of the R500 bn relief package has been spent.

We also note that @TreasuryRSA has received more revenue than expected - with the overrun around R45.8bn. To put this into context, the cost of extending & increasing the SRD grant to R585 for 1 year, & incl caregivers, would be R55bn-R75bn a year, depending on level of uptake.

It may sound a lot, but an improved Covid grant could give relief to 8 - 11 million of the poorest S.Africans, effectively supporting up to half the S.African population (if each claimant has at least 2 dependents). In that context, this is a small price to pay. #PayTheGrants

We view the Covid SRD grant as a bridge to a Basic Income Guarantee. The silence on a future BIG by the @PresidencyZA during the SONA was deafening, despite his previous statement that engagement on implementing a #BIG would take place this year.

#BIG has widespread support from community organisations, trade unions, civil society organisations as one strategy to address systemic poverty in the most unequal country on the planet.
Structural inequality & systemic poverty preceded this pandemic & have only been worsened.

While it is important that there be a focus on jobs, the reality is that this is a time of crisis & cash transfers are a proven & immediate way to deal with hunger & to stimulate local economies. #PayTheGrants

There can be no recovery without continued, sustainable support; temporary relief is simply not enough at this critical stage and the focus on jobs and grants is not mutually exclusive; we need both. #PayTheGrants

Our request to meet @GovernmentZA still stands; we must work together to deal with the devastating effects of COVID-19. As members of #PayTheGrants Campaign - endorsed by civil society, community orgs & trade unions -we need an urgent show of political will from @PresidencyZA

Released by the @PayTheGrants, @black_sash & the @IEJ_SA

For Comment: 

Natasha Vally: 072 387 6266 

Shaeera Kalla: 076 786 6929

Lynette Maart: 083 628 3425 

Hoodah Fayker: 072 252 0333

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Neil Coleman: 082 776 5018 

#PayTheGrants