Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu says they are waiting to see if the R350 grant for the unemployed will be extended during the third wave.
This follows their request for the extension of the grant after research showed the impact it had on many families who were affected during the outbreak of Covid-19 last year.
She said on Friday that it was not clear if the R350 grant will be extended, but the Department of Social Development also understood the financial strain the National Treasury was going through.
“We were asked whether the R350 grant will come back or not – from the department point of view, long before the end of the last one, we had already made our request, but we were very conscious of the fact that the finances were not doing well overall as government,” said Zulu. “We wait and we engage but we are committed to continue to engage.”
The government said it had provided the unemployment grant to millions of people who were hit by Covid-19 last year. It was forced to extend it several times until the beginning of the year, when it said it would be stopped.
Political Bureau