Ramaphosa Extends R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant by a Year

President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant by a year.

Ramaphosa was delivering the state of the nation address (SONA) at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday.

This is Ramaphosa’s sixth state of the nation address.

Ramaphosa said since the onset of COVID-19, the Social Relief of Distress Grant has provided support to more than 10 million unemployed people who were most vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic.  

Ramaphosa said some people used that money to start businesses.

“Mindful of the proven benefits of the grant, we will extend the R350 SRD Grant for one further year, to the end of March 2023. During this time, we will engage in broad consultations and technical work to identify the best options to replace this grant.”

Ramaphosa said any future support must pass the test of affordability and must not come at the expense of basic services or at the risk of unsustainable spending.