Mboweni announces extension to R350 Covid-19 grant
Government will extend the payment of the R350 Covid-19 grant until the end of January 2021, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has announced.
Mboweni tabled the Medium-Term Policy Budget Statement in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
“The Cabinet has decided to extend the Social Relief of Distress grant to the end of January 2021. Because this grant is so effective in reaching the unemployed, we propose to redirect R6.8 billion from the public employment programme allocation,” he told MPs.
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Mboweni added that 22 million people have been recipients of cash grants during the lockdown.
The number equates to at least half of the country’s population.
“To reach the poorest South African households, we expanded social protection. Seven million people accessed the Temporary Employment Relief Scheme through the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The Special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant reached six million people,” added Mboweni.
