The state child-support grant of R240 a month will be extended to children older than 14 years with effect from January 1 next year, government announced on Thursday.
Briefing the media following Cabinet’s regular Wednesday fortnightly meeting, government spokesperson Themba Maseko said the meeting approved the extension of the grant to eligible children up to their 18th birthday.
Currently, children turning 15 are removed from the system.
Maseko said the decision applied only to children from ”poor households”. Caregivers of the beneficiaries would have the responsibility to ensure that the beneficiaries remained in school.
The extended grant would be phased in, starting with 15 year olds on January 1 2010.
The extended grants would benefit about two million children from poor households.
The total cost to the state would be R1,3-billion, R2,6-billion, and R3,5-billion respectively over the next three years, Maseko said. — Sapa