Malema’s SASSA pledge under fire: ‘Who is going to pay, taxpayers?’
· The South African
EFF leader Julius Malema used provincial manifesto launches in Mpumalanga and the North West to promise a major overhaul of social grants ahead of the 4 November local government elections. He told supporters the party would not cut Sassa grants if it took power, but would instead raise the Older Persons Grant, currently around R2 400, to R4 500 a month.
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Malema also pledged automatic Free Basic Electricity for Sassa beneficiaries, an increase to the R370 Social Relief of Distress grant, and a new allowance for unemployed graduates. The pledges featured heavily on The South African’s Facebook page, where they quickly drew a wave of scrutiny in the comments.
Commenters question the maths behind the promise
Facebook user Matthew Roziers asked bluntly who would bear the cost of the increase, questioning whether ordinary taxpayers would end up footing the bill. Raj Mahabeer raised a similar concern, asking where Malema intends to get the money to fund such a jump in grant spending.
Yolanda Becker went further, sarcastically suggesting that the funding would have to come from the Reserve Bank printing more notes, given how much paper and ink are apparently available. The comments reflect a broader unease among grant recipients and taxpayers alike about whether the numbers add up, especially given that the government is already spending more than R22 billion a month on the current grant system.
Scepticism follows a pattern of unfulfilled promises
This is not the first time Malema has promised to double social grants ahead of an election, and commenters were quick to point to that history. Organisations tracking related policy promises have also noted that measures like Free Basic Electricity already exist on paper but are poorly implemented, leaving millions of eligible households without the benefit.
For now, Malema has not detailed how an EFF-run municipality would generate the revenue needed to fund higher grants, free electricity and a graduate allowance simultaneously. Whether the pledge translates into policy depends on the outcome of the 4 November elections. Still, for many commenting on The South African’s Facebook page, the promise has already been met with more doubt than excitement.
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