By: Natasha Archary
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, John Steenhuisen has called President Ramaphosa’s bluff over SASSA grants.
Speaking at the ANC’s 112th birthday celebrations on Monday, 08 January, Ramaphosa warned attendees that the country’s social grants (SASSA) and National Student Funding Aid Scheme (NSFAS) could be at risk if the ANC loses power in the upcoming general elections.
Ramaphosa’s controversial statement was not well received by the opposition who maintain that should the ANC retain power, these grants and financial aid will “definitely” disappear.
“The truth is the exact opposite of Ramaphosa’s claim, which reeks of growing desperation as the ANC realizes that it has as little as 5-months left in government.
The single greatest threat to the sustainability of our country’s social grants system, is Ramaphosa’s ANC.
For nearly 3 decades, they have looted and pillaged the public resources required to continue funding social grants.
As the money runs out, the ANC has already been forced to cut the budget for critical services like education and healthcare.
ANC corruption poses an existential threat to the continued payment of social grants to millions of vulnerable South Africans.
In fact, due to incessant ANC looting, Ramaphosa’s government is already dismantling social grants.
It is therefore rich that Ramaphosa – the same person whose government is actively cutting social grants to the poor because his party has looted the fiscus to near-bankruptcy – would use the vital lifeline of grants for dishonest political fearmongering.”
Listen to John Steenhuisen calling Ramaphosa’s bluff over SASSA grants:
Steenhuisen accused the ANC of systematically cutting Child Support Grants annually, sharing that expenditure on these grants has declined over the past decade.
“The child support grant, which accounts for 71% of all expenditure on grants, has dramatically declined in real terms over the past decade.
Year-on-year, the ANC has increased this grant by as little as 2% per year, while inflation has average 5.2% the past ten years.
The ANC has thus been systematically cutting the Child Support Grant by up to 3 percentage points per year for at least a decade.”
Listen to the conversation on 959 Breakfast over Ramaphosa’s warning that SASSA grants and NSFAS are at risk if ANC loses elections:
Also read: Stage 2 loadshedding from Tuesday until further notice
