Ramaphosa brings back R350 grant

• At least 9.5-million unemployed people will benefit • President offers support to business

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday announced a package of measures to support households and businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent violence in KwaZuluNatal and Gauteng, including the reintroduction of a R350 income grant to the poorest citizens between the ages of 18 and 59.

He also eased lockdown regulations to allow the sale of alcohol and adjusted the start of the curfew to 10pm.

The special relief of distress social grant would also be available to unemployed caregivers this time, whose child support grants were previously topped up, but this has ended. The grant is therefore expected to reach at least 7-million unemployed, who signed up for the benefit last time, as well as 2.5-million caregivers. It will be paid until the end of March 2022.

Ramaphosa said that the grant had been made possible “by the slight improvement we have seen in our revenue collection”, implying that the impact would not damage the fiscal framework, tabled in February.

Tax revenues have been running higher than anticipated due to high commodity prices, from which SA has benefited.

“This will build on the strength of our existing social protection system, which is one of the greatest achievements of our democracy,” he said.

The pandemic has had a devastating impact on the lowest earners and those in the most vulnerable types of employment. During the first lockdown 2.2-million jobs were lost. But a year later, by the first quarter of 2021, fewer than 1-million of those have been regained.

As well as providing support for the poorest, Ramaphosa announced a raft of support measures for businesses that have been affected by both the lockdown and the violence. These included an assurance that the government would stand behind state-owned insurance company Sasria to meet all claims expeditiously; setting aside dedicated funds to assist uninsured businesses; extending the payment of unemployment benefits from the UIF to businesses closed by

the violence; and the expansion of the government’s employment tax incentive scheme for four months, so that employers in affected industries can claim a tax refund of up to R750 a month for employees earning below R6,500.

Affected business will also receive some tax relief, with PAYE deferred for three months and the payment of excise taxes by the alcohol sector also deferred for the same period.

Ramaphosa said the government was in further discussions with social partners to accelerate the implementation of the economic reconstruction and recovery programme to drive growth and job creation.

He acknowledged that the looting and violence would have a serious impact on investor sentiment and that confidence in the ability of the state to enforce law and order had to be reestablished.

With the third wave beginning to ease and the national vaccination programme gaining momentum, cabinet had agreed to move the country from adjusted alert level 4 to adjusted alert level 3, said Ramaphosa.

Under the latest lockdown restrictions, which were expected to come into effect on Sunday evening, alcohol sales would be allowed from retail outlets for off-site consumption from 10am to 6pm, Monday to Thursday, while sales for on-site consumption will be allowed in line with liquor licence conditions up to 8pm. The curfew will be eased slightly to begin at 10pm instead of 9pm, and remains in place until 4am.

The ban on leisure travel to and from Gauteng has been lifted, and gatherings will be allowed as long as they are no more than 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.

These measures will offer some relief to the liquor and hospitality industries, which have been battered by successive iterations of the lockdown restrictions and by the violence and looting earlier this month.

Funerals and cremations remain capped at 50 people, with night vigils banned.

Describing vaccination as “our most effective weapon in the fight against Covid-19,” Ramaphosa said 6.3-million doses had been administered by Sunday evening.