/ 25 February 2000

WELFARE GRANT INCREASE ‘SMALL’

GRANTS for the elderly and the disabled are to increase only slightly, by R20 to R540 a month, Manuel announced in Parliament.

The total welfare budget has been increased by approximately R1,25-billion to a total of R20,92-billion.

Provincial welfare departments currently pay monthly benefits to more than three million of society’s most vulnerable beneficiaries, at a cost of about R1,4-billion a month.