A group of academics, civil society leaders and development partners sent a submission to the Ministers of Finance and Social Development on Freedom Day, 27 April 2020. The submission draws attention to concerns that the social relief package announced by the President last week is inequitable, punitive to women and children, and needs revision.
On Tuesday, 21 April 2020, the President announced a social relief package that included pro-poor measures to support families facing increased poverty and food insecurity during and after lockdown. Subsequent briefings by SASSA, the Minister of Social Development, and the Minister of Finance, indicate that the relief package is not as pro-poor or as extensive as it initially appeared. The President had announced that child support grant (CSG) beneficiaries will receive an extra R300 in May and from June to October they would receive an additional R500 each month. However, subsequent briefings by SASSA, the Minister of Social Development, and the Minister of Finance, indicate that although all CSGs will receive an increase of R300 in May, from June a R500 increase attached to the CSG is a single increase for the caregiver (the recipient of the money) rather than the beneficiary (the child for whom the money is intended).
It also seems likely that the 7.1 million caregivers who receive CSGs on behalf of children will be excluded from accessing the R350 Covid-19 grant if they are unemployed. Given the increases that have now been announced for the other grants, modelled estimates show that if the R500 CSG increase is attached to the caregiver rather than each grant, this will leave 2 million more people below the food poverty line than would be the case if the increase were attached to every CSG.
The relief package needs to acknowledge and cater for the fact that, in addition to job losses and rising food costs, around 10 million children have since March lost their daily main meals due to the closure of the school and ECD feeding schemes. Whereas all other grants have received increases of R250, it is unclear what the R500 CSG increase represents. It is either a caregiver grant or it is a CSG. If the latter, then the adult recipient should be eligible for a Covid-19 grant and exclusion from it is unjustified. If the former, then the question is why the CSG, unlike other grants, is not being increased – which in turn raises the question as to whether the state has taken adequate measures to mitigate the closure of the school feeding scheme. Either way, children and women get a raw deal.
The endorsing organisations and individuals have called on Cabinet to reconsider the manner in which the allocation of grants will occur, bearing in mind the necessity of an urgent pro-poor response that protects children, the unemployed, and the informal sector. They have called on government to attach the CSG increase to each grant paid, to ensure that unemployed caregivers are not excluded from the Covid-19 grant, and for the government to share its assumptions and protections for the Covid-19 grant so that there can be informed engagement in defining the eligibility criteria and mechanisms for widespread, equitable and rapid uptake.
The submission was signed by;
Prof Shanaaz Mathews (Director: Children’s Institute, UCT),Prof Ann Skelton (Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Professor of Child Law, UP) ,Karabo Ozah (Director: Centre for Child Law, UP)
Noncedo Madubedube (General Secretary: Equal Education),Prof Murray Leibbrandt (Director: South African Labour and Development Research Unit, UCT), Nurina Ally (Director: Equal Education Law Centre)
Assoc. Prof Maylene Shung King (School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town), Umunyana Rugege (Executive Director: Section 27), Prof Ruth Hall (Institute for Poverty, Land & Agrarian Studies PLAAS) Koketso Moeti (Executive Director: amandla.mobi), Prof Ingrid Woolard (Dean: Faculty of Commerce, University of Stellenbosch), Dr Gilad Isaacs (Director: Institute for Economic Justice),Lynette Maart (Director: Black Sash),
Christina Nomdo (NPC Commissioner), Russel Rensburg (Director: Rural Health Advocacy Project)
Media enquiries contact:
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Lwazikazi Sibisi
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E-mail: Lwazikazi.sibisi@uct.ac.za
Charmaine Smith
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Amaarah is a Junior Programme Officer in the Rethinking Economics for Africa project. She is currently studying towards her Masters in Applied Development Economics at Wits University. 
Dr James Musonda is the Senior Researcher on the Just Energy Transition at the IEJ. He is also the Principal Investigator for the Just Energy Transition: Localisation, Decent Work, SMMEs, and Sustainable Livelihoods project, covering South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya.
Dr Basani Baloyi is a Co-Programme Director at the IEJ. She is a feminist, development economist and activist. She gained her research experience while working on industrial policy issues in academia, at the Centre For Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) and Corporate Strategy and Industrial Development (CSID) Unit.
Dr Andrew Bennie is Senior Researcher in Climate Policy and Food Systems at the IEJ. He has extensive background in academic and civil society research, organising, and activism. Andrew has an MA in Development and Environmental Sociology, and a PhD in Sociology on food politics, the agrarian question, and collective action in South Africa, both from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Juhi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Sociology from Wits University and an Honours degree in Development Studies from the University of Cape Town. Her current research focus is on social care regimes in the South African context, with a particular focus on state responses to Early Childhood Development and Long-Term Care for older persons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her other research areas include feminist economics, worlds of work and the care economy.
Bandile Ngidi is the Programme Officer for Rethinking Economics for Africa. Bandile has previously worked at the National Minimum Wage Research Initiative and Oxfam South Africa. He holds a Masters in Development Theory and Policy from Wits University. He joined the IEJ in August 2018. Bandile is currently working on incubating the Rethinking Economics for Africa movement (working with students, academics and broader civil society). 
Liso Mdutyana has a BCom in Philosophy and Economics, an Honours in Applied Development Economics, and a Masters in Applied Development Economics from Wits University. His areas of interest include political economy, labour markets, technology and work, and industrial policy. Through his work Liso aims to show the possibility and necessity of economic development that prioritises human wellbeing for everyone.
Joan Stott holds a Bachelor of Business Science in Economics and a Master’s in Economics from Rhodes University. She brings to the IEJ a wealth of experience in public finance management, policy development, institutional capacity-building, and advancing socioeconomic and fiscal justice.
Siyanda Baduza is a Junior Basic Income Researcher at IEJ. He holds a BSc in Economics and Mathematics, an Honours degree in Applied Development Economics, and is currently completing a Master’s degree in Applied Development Economics at the University of the Witwatersrand. Siyanda’s research focuses on the impacts of social grants on wellbeing, with a particular focus on the gendered dynamics of this impact. His interests include applied micro-economics, policy impact evaluation, labour markets, gender economics, and political economy. He is passionate about translating economic research into impactful policy.
Shikwane is a Junior Programme Officer at IEJ focusing on civil society support and global governance in the G20. He has a background in legal compliance, IT contracting and student activism. He holds degrees in Political Studies and International Relations, as well as an LLB, from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Dr Tsega is a Senior Researcher focusing on Women’s Economic Empowerment within the G20. She examines gender equity in economic policy, with expertise in food systems and small enterprise development. She holds a PhD in development studies from the University of the Western Cape, an MA in Development Economics, and degrees in Development Studies and Economics from UNISA and Addis Ababa University.
Nerissa is a G20 Junior Researcher at IEJ, focusing on advancing civil society priorities within the G20 framework. She bridges data, research, and policy to advance inclusive economic frameworks. She is completing a Master’s in Data Science (e-Science) at the University of the Witwatersrand, and holds Honours and Bachelor’s Degrees in International Relations with distinction. She has worked as a Research Fellow at SAIIA and a Visiting Research Fellow at Ipea in Brazil.
Dr Mzwanele is a Senior Researcher supporting South Africa’s G20 Sherpa with policy research. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Birmingham and an MSc from the University of the Witwatersrand. His work covers open macroeconomics, trade, finance, and higher education policy, and he has published widely on inequality, unemployment, household debt and higher education curriculum reform.
Kamal is the Project Lead for IEJ’s G20 work, focusing on sovereign debt and development finance. He holds a BComm (Hons) in Applied Development Economics from the University of the Witwatersrand and an Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in Economic Policies for the Global Transition. He has worked with SCIS, UNCTAD and co-founded Rethinking Economics for Africa.