WEBINAR: The implication of the termination of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant and the proposals moving forward
THURSDAY 17 JUNE 2021 from 13:00 – 14:00 SAST/CAT
PLAAS invites you to a webinar titled ‘#PayTheGrants: The implication of the termination of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant and the proposals moving forward’
The speakers include:
- Wanga Zembe-Mkabile, Social Policy Researcher at the South African Medical Research Council
- Hoodah Abrahams-Fayker, National Advocacy Manager, Black Sash
- Julia Eccles, #PayTheGrants campaign.
The webinar will be chaired by Andries du Toit, PLAAS, University of the Western Cape.
The COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) (unemployment) grant came to an end on 30 April 2021. This grant was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa after he had declared the National State of Disaster as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. The grant was paid to those who are unemployed for a period of 6 months. It was later extended for another 3 months.
According to the South African Social Security Agency, they processed 9 million applications, and paid more than 6.5 million grants by January 2021 per month, and the total expenditure exceeded R16 billion. Calls have been made to extend this grant by a number of organizations, but the termination has been effected as at 30 April 2021.
This webinar will engage the following questions:
- What impact did the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress have, and what are the implications of its termination likely to be on ordinary South Africans, particularly those who are without income?
- What has been the nature of the policy engagement between civil society and government, and what lessons can be learned from it?
- What is the vision for a sustainable grants policy that can help address the crisis of hunger and unemployment in South Africa today?
Tune in on Thursday 17 June 2021 at:
- 13:00 South African Standard Time (SAST)/Central African Time (CAT)
- 12:00 West African Time (WAT)
- 11:00 Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT) (Ghana)
- 14:00 East African Time (EAT) (Tanzania)
Watch the webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCZFRqTNh2k Or scroll down to view it.
