Could it be that social grants, which have buoyed the ruling party in so many elections, might be the very thing that could now sink it? The social protection system is a crucial safety net that today provides 17 million people with something to fall back on. Spending on grants in this financial year will be about R140.5-billion and is expected to rise to about R165-billion in 2018-19, mostly due to inflation and the rise in the number of beneficiaries, according to the National Treasury. That is cash for households in which, in many cases, no one has a job, and it's a sizable investment by the ruling party in a big chunk of the electorate. Children have been among the greatest beneficiaries, with research showing that grants have boosted school enrolment. According to the South African Child Support Grant Impact Assessment, a 2012 report commissioned by the government and Unicef, children enrolled in the child support grant at birth completed significantly more grades of schooling ...
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