‘I know people say it is not a lot of money, but for us, that is everything’
Reintroduction of the social distress grant is a life-saver for many
Silindile Mdlalose is worried that her fourmonth-old daughter may not be getting the nutrition she needs.
“The clinic is complaining that she weighs less than a baby her age should,” said the 37-year-old mother of three from Lamontville, Durban.
“I’m not able to keep up with the needs of my children. It’s winter and they don’t have enough jerseys or durable shoes. There are things I don’t buy every month, like sugar — it’s become expensive and we have to prioritise things like electricity.”
Mdlalose was among the millions of South Africans who celebrated this week after President Cyril Ramaphosa reintroduced the R350 a month social relief of distress grant, aimed at assisting communities affected by the pandemic and the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
It was initially introduced last April to assist those who had lost their jobs due to the lockdown, and was stopped at the end of April this year. It was paid only to those who were not receiving any other grant.
Ramaphosa said last Sunday that the eligibility criteria would now be expanded to include more people, including unemployed caregivers currently receiving child-care grants. It will be paid out until March next year.
“It’s better than nothing, but it should’ve been R1,000,” said Mdlalose. “The R350 will really help make things better. I’m glad I stand a chance to get an extra income.
“Though the social grant is not a lot for a family of four, I manage to buy rice, maize, body lotion, nappies and medication for the baby.”
In a desperate bid to keep food on the table, she has become a bargain hunter, going from shop to shop to find the cheapest prices, especially for nappies.
Mdlalose, a domestic cleaner, lost her job when the hard lockdown was first imposed last year. She has not been able to find work since.
She used to live in a tent, until she moved into a shack with other family members.
Mdlalose receives R920 a month in childcare grants, so the social relief grant would boost her monthly income to R1,270.
Expenses this has to cover include R120 for her 11-year-old son’s transport to school, R600 for baby formula, R200 for nappies and R250 for prepaid electricity, which she tries to stretch to last more than a month.
“After only a few days, there is no more money. I borrow from friends and neighbours. [Previously] they could help, but now everyone is suffering a lot, so not many people can help out any more. We mostly live on mealie meal because it is filling.”
Rebecca Siyo, 37, from Orange Farm on the outskirts of Johannesburg, received the social distress grant from the start last year.
The grant comprised a R250 grocery hamper, with basic staples such as mealie meal and cooking oil, and R100 in cash. Siyo used the money to scout for specials on tinned food and toiletries.
The mother of two teens said bread, margarine, tea and coffee were not on her shopping list any more. Typically she and her children have one meal a day, sometimes two, consisting of porridge and whatever tinned food she has in the cupboard.
After the grant stopped, neighbours and sometimes the local church helped out, but resources are stretched for everyone.
When she heard on Sunday that the grant will be reinstated, Siyo fell to her knees to give thanks.
“I know people say it is not a lot of money, but for us, that is everything. That is why I had to say thank you.”
But Siyo will probably not benefit as much from the grant as she did previously.
Rising food costs are eroding the value of the grant, said Mervyn Abrahams of the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group. The group monitors the cost of basic food baskets.
“That is not to say the R350 does not still add a lot of value for desperate families,” Abrahams said.
“But we are in a deeper crisis than a year ago with the electricity hike and transport [costs], and the cost of our food basket has increased by R281. When you consider the R350, it will not eradicate poverty and inequality, it will be absorbed by increasing prices.”
Wanga Zembe-Mkabile, specialist scientist
I’m not able to keep up with the needs of my children. It’s winter and they don’t have enough jerseys or durable shoes
Silindile Mdlalose
in the health systems research unit at the South African Medical Research Council, said the grant would ease the hardship of the pandemic for the poor.
“The … grant should not end, as it has done previously. Instead, it should be converted into basic income support for those aged 18 to 59 with no or little income,” said Zembe-Mkabile, who has co-authored a Black Sash report on social grants.
“It should include all people in this age cohort without income, regardless of if they are a caregiver receiving a grant on behalf of children, or a special permit holder from another country.”
She said the size of a basic income grant should be linked to an objective measure such as the food poverty line set by Stats SA — the amount a person needs to afford the minimum required daily energy intake — which was R585 a month last year.