Durban — Calls for the social relief of distress grant to be permanent have finally been heard.
Chairperson of the committee in charge of economic reforms in the ANC, Mmamoloko Kubayi, said the party was looking at proposals and would determine how much the grant should be.
Kubayi said this while talking to the media at the ANC 55th conference at Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.
She said conference delegates believed that there was a need for this money to continue to be paid.
Those who qualify for the grant receive R350 a month from the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa). She said they needed to figure out how much should be paid out permanently and where the money was going to come from.
“Things like tax on the rich can be considered, so that it can support this grant,” said Kubayi.
She added that the members pointed out that the grant is chasing the cat out of the oven for the unemployed, adding that this was the reason the grant should be permanent.
Furthermore, the issue has been discussed a lot as there were those who said that the grant cannot be completed because there were many young people who were unemployed in the country.
At the moment, the government has set aside about R44 billion to pay the 10 million people in the country who will receive the allowance until March next year.
Meanwhile, Kubayi also said the conference had agreed that government companies should be removed from the Ministry of Government Business and placed under different departments.
Making an example, she said that Transnet could be placed under the Ministry of Transport.
“It has been agreed that these companies would be included under departments such as Eskom under the Ministry of Minerals and Energy, and Denel under the Ministry of Defence.”
She stated it was agreed that these companies should be under their respective departments, so that there can be co-operation.
Kubayi revealed that there have been complaints about the failure of companies that always wanted to be bailed out by the government.
Daily News