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"The child support grant is not enough!"

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At the recent 2012 budget speech the child support grant was announced to be increased by R10 from R270 per child per month to R280.

Who qualifies for the child support grant?


You must:
  • be the child’s primary caregiver (e.g. parent, grandparent or a child over 16 heading a family). Note: If you are not the child's parent, proof that you are the child’s primary caregiver through an affidavit from a police official, a social worker’s report, an affidavit from the biological parent or a letter from the school principal from the school attended by the child.
  • be a South African citizen or permanent resident.
  • not earn more than R31 200 per year if you are single. If you are married, your combined income should not be above R 62 400 per year.

The child must:

  • have been born after 31 December 1993.
  • not be cared for in a state institution.
  • reside with the primary caregiver who is not paid to look after the child.
To find out more visit South African Government Services

We asked our Facebook users what they thought:


Why not R300? - Dejavu' Dangie Recksons

Well, that is just about enough for milk for 2 weeks. - Belinda Farr

Honestly, that barely enough for a bag of nappies and a tin of milk... What about financial coverage for clothes and solid foods and every child should have a toy? - Estelle Kleynhans

It makes very little difference, I think. As many have mentioned, it's a drop in the ocean of what a child *really* costs per month. So much so that many of the moms I work with at Young Mom Support haven't even bothered to sign up for it and are not receiving any grant at all. - Tracy Engelbrecht

Truly, how does one maintain anyone on R280? I would be very interested to know what research was done that government arrived at this figure. I would love to observe how any state official, or better still parliamentarian could raise, educate and feed their children on R280 per month! - Jeanette D Wyeth

There are a lot of reasons a mother might need financial help, but R280 doesn't help very much at all. - Margo Prowse

Want more? Follow Parent24 on Twitter!

Now tell us what you think, do you agree or disagree with our Facebook users? Is R280 enough?

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