National Treasury says no to SAHRC proposal to increase Child Support Grant to poverty line
29 February 2024
In November last year, an investigation by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) laid bare the devastating levels of poverty and malnutrition facing children in the Eastern Cape. While their investigation was specific to the Eastern Cape, we are also aware, based on the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF), that nearly five million children (or one quarter of children) are starving in our country.
Both SAHRC and NMCF implore the need for urgent national intervention, including proposals such as increasing the Child Support Grant to the food poverty line. This proposal would increase the Child Support Grant from R510 per month to R760 per month.
The DA has fervently been in support of increasing the Child Support Grant to the food poverty line, as contained in our Social Development policy introduced in June last year. Our proposals to support our country’s children also include extending the Child Support Grant to pregnant mothers to support infant nutrition, as well as extending the Grant to learners until they complete their National Senior Certificate.
Further, we believe in expanding the zero-rated food basket and limiting hunger by including critical items such as bone-in chicken, beef, tinned beans, baby food, wheat flour, soup powder, and margarine among others.