President Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed that his party was considering extending the issuing of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant worth R350 to unemployed people but warned it would depend on affordability.
Ramaphosa made the remarks after the ANC’s national executive committee’s extended lekgotla meeting on Monday. The meeting included senior members of the SACP, Cosatu, ANC Women’s League and Youth League as well as the South African Students Congress.
In his address, Ramaphosa said all the parties urged the ANC to undertake a massive employment programme to help alleviate poverty.
“Our central task is to create jobs and more jobs to reduce poverty. The Covid-19 pandemic had deepened poverty and inequality and had increased the number of unemployment in the country,” he said.
Ramaphosa said his party was given orders to consider extending other social grants, including the SRD grant, which has seen more than 6 million people applying for it.
“All those we need to be considered based on affordability,” he said
While promising to create job opportunities, Ramaphosa said the ANC and its alliance partners were appealing to citizens to visit their vaccination sites and “take the jabs”, saying it would help stabilise the economy in the wake of the pandemic.
Ramaphosa also promised to strengthen law enforcement agencies, especially the police and intelligence service, to ensure that the violent events of July in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng were not repeated “ever again”.
The ANC welcomed the arrest of those who were allegedly fuelling the violence, but Ramaphosa said it was necessary that those who were masterminds of the “attempted insurrection” be brought to book.
He said the ANC was also urged to reduce the number of consultants doing business, saying in the future all spheres of government, including local government, will be expected to use their own workers to deliver services to the people.
Political Bureau