Government

New social grant for South Africa on the way

Staff Writer

 ·4 Mar 2026

The Department of Social Development (DSD) says consultations with National Treasury will begin in March 2026 to find a way to support the new Basic Income Support (BIS) grant, promised by the government for years.

Responding to a parliamentary question from the ANC’s Tshilidzi Munyai, DSD Minister Sisisi Tolashe said the department is currently refining macroeconomic impact and implementation models for the grant.

The grant—first characterised as a ‘basic income grant’ (BIG)—has been transformed over the years as the government’s desire to provide a universal income for all clashed with South Africa’s economic reality.

In 2024, Tolashe said her department was instructed by cabinet to more clearly define the grant in terms of strengthening links to “sustainable livelihoods and economic opportunities”.

This aligns with promises and announcements from President Cyril Ramaphosa over the years that the country would be moving towards a ‘work-seeker’s grant’ as a form of basic income support.

Using the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant as a basis, the DSD has since engaged in extensive consultations, commissioned research and is working with stakeholders to make the grant possible.

“The SRD grant has functioned as a transitional instrument, allowing the government to test administrative capacity and assess fiscal implications before committing to a permanent Basic Income Support,” the minister said.

The new grant is intended to align with broader employment and social protection strategies.

The DSD said this will likely be in line with linking beneficiaries aged 18 to 59 with employment, training, and enterprise opportunities.

This is essential to transform grants from instruments of survival into tools of empowerment, Tolashe said.

“Evidence suggests that when beneficiaries are linked to economic opportunities, they are better able to leverage social assistance to improve their livelihoods,” she said.

A question of cost

One of the key blockages for the new grant is financing.

Tolashe said that a policy-making process can never be completed without a clear, sustainable financing framework.

To this end, she said that the re-costing of the policy has been completed and incorporated into the draft policy.

“Funding sustainability remains a concern with fiscal space constrained by slow economic growth and increasing demands on government revenue.”

In the 2026 budget, Finance Minister Enoch Godonwana noted that social grants constitute the largest share of spending on social development.

Excluding the SRD grant, spending increases from R246.6 billion in 2025/26 to R276.5 billion in 2028/29, the Treasury said.

Around 8.2 million people currently benefit from the SRD grant, with 26.5 million grant recipients overall.

As part of the process of getting the BIS off the ground, the DSD said the COVID SRD grant had to keep going.

As such, the grant was allocated an additional R36.4 billion to extend payments until 31 March 2027 at the current rate of R370 per beneficiary per month.

Notably, the provision for the SRD grant over the medium term dissipates to 2028/29, where only R1.7 billion and R1.2 billion are pencilled in over the outer years.

This aligns with Ramaphosa’s statements during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) that a new grant, using the SRD as a basis but completely redesigned, will be introduced in 2026.

Consultation with the National Treasury for funding the new BIS will resume in March 2026, the DSD said.

With the assistance of the Presidency, the department has reviewed the draft policy on the BIS, and the intention is to finalise consultation in March 2026.