To clothe and feed a growing boy on R360 a month is a tremendous struggle, a Mitchells Plain grandmother said. An 11-year-old needs multiple meals a day, and outgrows clothes in a few months.
“My husband, who is a pensioner, has to work odd jobs for extra money so we can get by,” said the granny, who wants to remain anonymous.
The Children’s Institute yesterday said of the 17 million beneficiaries whose social grants hang in the balance, three-quarters are for children.
Nearly 13 million child grants are paid to about 7 million caregivers each month.
“The Child Support Grant (CSG) is one of the most successful poverty alleviation programmes in the history of South Africa. It has more beneficiaries than all the other social grants put together.
"The value of the CSG is much smaller than the others yet even this small amount has been associated with improvements in nutrition, health and education outcomes,” the institute said.
The boy's mother died last year, and his father does not contribute anything towards his maintenance.
The 59-year-old grandmother, who receives a disability grant, said although she struggled to make their money stretch, she loved her grandson and would continue struggling for him.
“”Fortunately, it’s a five-minute walk to his no-fee school, but he is growing so fast, and eats a lot. The money is really not enough; it’s so sad,” she said.
The Constitutional Court declared the contract for the payment of social grants between SA Social Security Agency and Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) invalid three years ago after Sassa failed to ensure the empowerment credentials claimed by CPS were objectively confirmed.
The Department of Social Development has not found an alternative payment service and wants to extend Sassa’s contract with CPS.
No agreement has been signed yet.
“To ensure that children are protected, social grants have to be paid, and on time. It is also critical to ensure that the processes put in place to achieve this to protect children and their families from unlawful deductions from the grants and that their biometric data are secured.
"In this, we support the Black Sash’s application to the Constitutional Court,” the institute said.
The Centre for Applied Legal Studies, on behalf of the Black Sash Trust, on February 28 launched an application in the Concourt to compel the Minister of Social Development, Bathabile Dlamini, and Sassa to take the necessary measures to ensure that the social grants system and its beneficiaries are protected.