Welfare grants ‘will not be permanent’

WYNDHAM HARTLEY

CAPE TOWN — Social Development Minister Edna Molewa yesterday defended the government’s track record on welfare grants as a job “well done”, but insisted that the grants were not intended to be a permanent feature of SA’s social development geography.

Her remarks followed economist Mike Schussler’s comments last week after the budget speech that SA was the largest welfare state in the world and that the current rate of three people on grants for every taxpayer was unsustainable.

Molewa said: “Government has done very well in supporting those in distress.” She said the grants were not intended to be permanent, particularly for young women, the idea being to “empower them to take advantage of educational and economic opportunities”.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s budget last week allocated R89bn for social grants . Social pensions have risen to R1080 a month and child support grants to R250 a month. The age limit for the latter was raised from 15 to 18 years.

Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge also defended the claim by President Jacob Zuma in his state of the nation address that 482742 work opportunities were created last year between April and December, 97% of the 500000 target.

Doidge said the Expanded Public Works Programme “is working” but warned people should stop trying to make it something that it was not. He said most of the opportunities provided work for two days a week up to a total of 100 days.

Molewa said job opportunities were defined as any period of paid employment. From its inception, the programme was designed as a strategy to bridge the skills gap, provide remunerative job opportunities for disadvantaged groups and to fast- track public services provision.