Black Sash raises alarm over inadequate social grant increase

Black Sash has raised alarm over what it describes as inadequate increases to social grants in Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s final 2026 budget, warning that millions of vulnerable South Africans will fall further behind as living costs continue to climb. Presenting his 2026 Budget Speech on Wednesday, Godongwana confirmed that social grant beneficiaries will receive modest increases in the 2026/2027 financial year, which begins on 1 April 2026. The budget follows the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement tabled in late 2025 and outlines total government spending of R2.67 trillion, with R292.8 billion allocated to social grants.

The social relief of distress (SRD) grant, however, will remain unchanged throughout the year. For 2026/27, social grants are allocated R292.8 billion, enabling the following increases:▶️The old age grant, disability grant and care dependency grant rise by R80 in April 2026, to R2 400.▶️The war veterans grant also increases by R80 to R2 420.▶️The foster care grant goes…pic.twitter.com/6QbakBsGyS Godongwana said government had sought to protect spending priorities without resorting to tax increases, where possible. To do so, National Treasury identified R12 billion in savings over the medium term, including R3 billion through improved targeting of social grants and beneficiary verification to reduce fraud.

But Black Sash said the increases fail to match the scale of poverty and the rising cost of food and electricity. Abigail Peters, the organisation’s national research and community-based monitoring manager, said even with the R20 increase, the child support grant remained far below what is required to meet basic food needs. This means that it’s only 3% closer to the food poverty line than it was last year.

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A grant that does not increase while prices rise loses value in real terms. “We have consistently raised that the social relief of distress (SRD) grant has not kept pace with inflation, and a zero increase means households will be expected to survive on less each month in real purchasing power in 2026,” said Peters.

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