The Minister of Social Development, Edna Molewa, wishes to remind all South Africans that the beginning of the year coincided with the extension of the Child Support Grant (CSG) to eligible children between the ages of 15 and 16. In this regard, the Minister encourages parents and guardians to register all eligible children from poor households. In terms of the regulations published on 31 December 2009, only children born on or after 1 October 1994 qualify for the Child Support Grant.
The number of applications received and processed for children aged 15 to 16 years as from 1 to 14 January 2010 is 1 712. However a total of 25 483 children who turned 15 in December were not lapsed and will now continue to receive the Child Support Grant until they reach the age of 18 years.
“We believe many more children who qualify to get this assistance have not applied, so we appeal to primary care givers to ensure that such children are not left out,” Minister Molewa said.
The Department of Social Development has, for the first time, ensured that once a child is registered for the Child Support Grant, such a child will receive it until the age of 18 years.
In the past, when the CSG was extended gradually between 2003 and 2008 to children under 15 years of age, more than 150 000 children who reached the maximum age automatically fell off the system each year, only to be readmitted into the system a few months later when the next phase of extension kicked in.
Therefore, these intervals, short as they may have been, interrupted the flow of the much-needed benefits for the children.
“This extension signifies government’s commitment to alleviate the plight of the impoverished majority of our people, especially children,” Minister Molewa added.
The age extension was approved by Cabinet in October last year following the realisation that more than 2 million children between the ages of 15 to 18 years of age continued to live under harsh conditions of poverty. Currently the CSG is R240.
Applications can be made at local or regional offices of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) throughout the country.
For enquiries contact:
Zanele Mngadi
Cell: 082 330 1148
Issued by: Department of Social Development
21 January 2010
Source: Department of Social Development (http://www.dsd.gov.za/)
