Economist questions efficacy of Covid grant in job creation
‘The social relief of distress grant is not a labour market tool’
An economist at the University of Cape Town (UCT) with the ear of President Cyril Ramaphosa has questioned the effectiveness of the social relief of distress (SRD) on employment, suggesting the money should be allocated to the informal sector to spur investment-driven growth.
Speaking at a policy dialogue that included officials from the Treasury, Prof Haroon Bhorat, who serves on the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), said the R350-a-month “grant has absolutely no impact on employment outcomes relative to someone that did not have a grant and so in many ways the longer-run effects of the SRD on the labour market on increasing the probability of employment is actually zero,” Bhorat said...
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