STATEMENT: Vulnerable people will lose their grants so National Treasury can meet its R3 billion “savings” projection

The Universal Basic Income Coalition (UBIC) argues that the 2026 Budget prioritises the wealthy and middle class over the vulnerable, leaving critical social grants like the Child Support Grant (CSG) and the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant below the food poverty line. The coalition specifically warns that National Treasury's Targeted and Responsible Savings (TARS) programme, which aims for R3 billion in savings through intensified grant reviews, is based on flawed assumptions about beneficiary fraud and risks excluding millions of eligible people due to SASSA's capacity constraints.

• The Child Support Grant (CSG), set at R580, remains significantly below basic nutritional requirements, sitting 32% below the food poverty line (FPL) of R855 and 38% below the cost of a nutritious food basket for a child.
• The Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant remains at R370 per month with no increase in the 2026 budget, placing it below 50% of the Food Poverty Line. The grant is only funded for the current financial year, and the proposed transition to a permanent basic income is delayed, with policy potentially only reaching Cabinet in March 2027.
• National Treasury's Targeted and Responsible Savings (TARS) programme aims to save R2 billion in the current financial year and R1 billion in 2027/28 through income verification. UBIC argues these projections are implausible and that most grant fraud is perpetrated by officials rather than beneficiaries.
• The grant review process risks excluding eligible beneficiaries because SASSA faces capacity constraints and its operating budget is projected to fall by an average of 3.4% in real terms over the medium term. Many beneficiaries are flagged or lose grants not due to fraud, but because they cannot afford the transport costs to visit SASSA offices for reviews.
• There is a significant gap between the number of people needing support and those receiving it; while an estimated 17.4 million working-age people have incomes below the FPL, the SRD grant is budgeted for only approximately 8 million people per month.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2026). STATEMENT: Vulnerable people will lose their grants so National Treasury can meet its R3 billion “savings” projection. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/STATEMENT_-Vulnerable-people-will-lose-their-grants-so-National-Treasury-can-meet-its-R3-billion-savings-projection.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. STATEMENT: Vulnerable people will lose their grants so National Treasury can meet its R3 billion “savings” projection. 2026. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/STATEMENT_-Vulnerable-people-will-lose-their-grants-so-National-Treasury-can-meet-its-R3-billion-savings-projection.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=STATEMENT: Vulnerable people will lose their grants so National Treasury can meet its R3 billion “savings” projection |date=3 March 2026 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/STATEMENT_-Vulnerable-people-will-lose-their-grants-so-National-Treasury-can-meet-its-R3-billion-savings-projection.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjustice2026statement, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{STATEMENT: Vulnerable people will lose their grants so National Treasury can meet its R3 billion “savings” projection}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/STATEMENT_-Vulnerable-people-will-lose-their-grants-so-National-Treasury-can-meet-its-R3-billion-savings-projection.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }