TODAY OUR GUEST ISDr Erin Torkelson from the social protection expert from Durham University.

• On Sunday July 25, 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the R350 Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant will be reinstated until March 2022.
• The grant’s eligibility criteria have also been expanded to include unemployed caregivers who receive the Child Support Grant on behalf of children.
• About 95% of Child Support Grant recipients are women and were excluded in the application criteria for the initial round of the Covid-19 grant.
• The Black Sash has compiled a report into the implementation and impact of the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant The report was publicly launched yesterday.
• The Social Protection in a time of Covid report outlines some of the challenges faced by those who did and did not receive the R350 grant.
• It also illustrates the impact the small monthly grant makes in many households across South Africa.