The EFF leader pledged to more than double the current R2,400 monthly grant if his party wins upcoming local government elections.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has pledged to increase the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) old-age grant to R4,500 per month should his party gain power. Malema made this promise while addressing supporters at the party’s provincial manifesto launch in North West on Saturday. He assured beneficiaries that an EFF-led government would not remove social grants, stating that the current R2,400 monthly grant, with a R2,420 variant for those over 75, is insufficient.
Malema also criticized the R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant as inadequate for unemployed South Africans and called for a new grant for unemployed graduates. He reiterated the R4,500 proposal in Mpumalanga, arguing that pensioners, particularly grandmothers, are the backbone of black families and deserve increased support. He asserted that the government could afford such an increase if public funds were not being misused.
The proposal comes as political parties campaign ahead of the November 4 local government elections, with social grants, unemployment, and the cost of living expected to be key voter issues. The EFF has a history of campaigning on substantially increasing social grants, having proposed an increase from R1,700 to R3,400 in its 2019 manifesto.
Why it mattersPensioners and recipients of social relief are directly affected by the proposed increase in the old-age grant and the potential introduction of a grant for unemployed graduates.
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