Organisations call for indefinite SRD grant

THE #PayTheGrants movement marked Freedom Day yesterday with a nationwide protest to demand the indefinite continuation and increase of the current Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant of R350.

The #PayTheGrants movement is endorsed by over 170 organisations including Black Sash, the Institute for Economic Justice, the C19 People’s Coalition and major trade unions, and argues that if the government ends the grant this month, the effects will be far-reaching.

Members in the province protested opposite the Delft Mall yesterday. Organiser Bravo Thompson said: “The country currently faces high inflation of food prices and a lot of people are relying on this grant due to job loss resulting from Covid19. People are slowly dying of hunger and this creates the high crime rate because people are hungry. It already feels like we are on life support, and now the government wants to switch off the machines to this life support.

“The R350 is already too little and what will happen once the government takes that away? What of the elderly and the vulnerable children?” he asked.

SA Domestic Service and Allied Workers’ Union (Sadsawu) generalsecretary Myrtle Witbooi said: “It is very important for Sadsawu to be part of this protest as many domestic workers did not benefit at all from this much-needed fund.

“We are hoping the extension will at least get more domestic workers to benefit.”

The movement wrote an open letter to the president last week appealing for help.