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Cape Town - Social assistance and welfare services have grown rapidly in recent years, the mini budget shows.
About 16.7 million South Africans receive social grants, up from 2.5 million in 1998. This figure is projected to reach 18.1 million in 2018/19, growing at 2.2% a year over the medium-term expenditure framework period, mainly due to higher life expectancy and efforts to ensure all eligible children younger than two years of age benefit from the grant.
The old age, war veterans, disability and care dependency grants have each increased by R10 per month from October 1 2015 to bring the annual increase in line with long-term inflation.
Over the spending period ahead, nearly R13bn will be added to social assistance budgets to accommodate the increase in beneficiaries and ensure that the value of grants keeps pace with inflation. Social assistance expenditure will remain stable as a percentage of gross domestic product.
Rising electricity prices and population growth have put pressure on municipalities' ability to fund free basic services for low-income households. Government proposes to add R6bn to the local government equitable share to offset these trends.
