Budget Speech: 17 million social grant beneficiaries want to hear good news

As we gear up to listen to Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan deliver his 2017/18 Budget Speech, 17 million social grant recipients nationally, and nearly 1.5 million people in the Western Cape, are waiting to hear good news about their grant payments come April 1^st.

SASSA finds itself in a self-created crisis of not having appointed a new grants payments service provider, after the Constitutional Court invalidated its existing contract with CPS. This has left over 17-million people uncertain about whether they’ll receive their payment in April, for which national Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini must take full responsibility.

I join the calls for the negotiations and processing of a new grants service provider to be placed under the Treasury, and away from Minister Dlamini.

This would be the good news that 17-million grant recipients would want to hear from Minister Gordhan’s Budget Speech.

Regardless of our political differences, we hope that this budget will prioritize the expansion of key services to all South Africans, especially the poor. We hope for a budget that addresses the basics adequately, such as the provision for good healthcare, a well-resourced police and criminal-justice system, and infrastructure development designed to grow our economy and create real jobs.

Over and above this, we hope for a budget that will protect the poor and most vulnerable, and give them a hand-up.