Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said that the Child Poverty and the Child Support Grant (CSG) Review Report will ensure a brighter future for all children.
According to the department, 13 million children are CSG recipients to the value of R510 a month per child.
According to the report, over a quarter of South Africa’s children under five are stunted – too short for their age due to chronic undernutrition.
“This stunting rate is very high for a middle-income country and an outlier in global terms. Undernutrition in turn hinders physical growth and brain development.”
The report also found that in June last year, orphans in the care of family members became eligible for a CSG top-up of R240, bringing the total amount to R720, which is above the food poverty line.
“This larger amount should reach as many as 700 000 poor children over the next three years,” said the report
The report continued to indicate that at the time of the last official poverty survey (the Living Conditions Survey of 2014/15), 55.5% of all people in South Africa lived below the upper-bound poverty line (UBPL), 40% below the lower-bound poverty line (LBPL), and 25% below the food-poverty line (FPL). In the same year, 67% of all children in South Africa lived below the UBPL, 51% below the LBPL and 33% below the FPL.
The report also found that child poverty rates have not decreased since 2013 when the age threshold extension to 18 for the CSG reached its end.
“A third of children are food insecure (below the food poverty line). This high prevalence of poverty is also reflected in the persistently high stunting rate. Child poverty rates increased in 2021, and the below-food-inflation increases to the CSG over the past three years are likely to lead to a further increase in child food poverty,” added the report
Meanwhile, It was revealed last week in a parliamentary answer by Zulu, that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) investigated 701 suspected cases of fraud with a potential loss of R50 million that involved 40 of its officials over the past two years.
Zulu said that of the 40, 37 cases were referred to law enforcement agencies for criminal investigation and prosecution.
“Several sanctions may be issued, such as warning letters, suspension, demotion and others. However, the regulations preclude financial recovery of a loss which occurred as a result of fraud that may have arisen through the conduct of the official,” she said
Disciplinary actions were instituted against 74 officials.
Her response showed that Eastern Cape led the pack with 19 cases, followed by Mpumalanga with 17, KwaZulu-Natal with 15, Limpopo and Western Cape with 10 each, North West with five, Free State and Gauteng three each and the Northern Cape with two.
Sanctions imposed against the officials that underwent disciplinary proceedings varied from written warnings to dismissal.