Western Cape mother exposes SASSA child support grant shortfall
· The South African
A Western Cape mother of two has laid bare the impossible financial balancing act facing millions of South African caregivers, revealing how the Child Support Grant is being quietly swallowed by school fees before basic needs are even covered.
Charne, who has relied on the Child Support Grant for more than five years, said that the R580 per child per month she receives from SASSA disappears faster than it arrives – and schools are a major reason why.
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“The school only subsidises part of the fees,” she said, explaining how the partial support leaves her scrambling to cover the remainder from the same limited grant money. What was designed to keep children fed ends up financing education costs the system was never meant to carry.
A month that never adds up
Charne is unemployed and renting privately in the Western Cape while supporting one to two dependants. The grant goes directly into her bank account each month, and she stretches it across food, transport and household necessities. Yet the shortfall is unavoidable.
“The money runs out before the month ends,” she said.
The pattern is relentless: prioritise food, cover transport, absorb the school fee gap and still come up short.
Getting to SASSA is its own burden
The financial pressure is compounded by the practical difficulty of accessing SASSA services. Charne travels between five and twenty kilometres to reach her nearest office, adding transport costs to a budget that has none to spare. Long queues and extended waiting times consume hours she cannot afford to lose.
She also struggled to understand which grants she qualifies for and found the documentation process stressful. Late and missing payments further disrupted her ability to plan, a common complaint among recipients that undermines the very stability the grant is meant to provide.
One asks to increase the grant amount
Despite rating SASSA’s overall service as adequate, Charne’s message to the government is direct: R580 is not enough.
“I want SASSA to increase the grant amount,” she said. With administration and office skills ready to be put to use, Charne is not asking for a handout indefinitely. She is asking for a bridge that actually reaches the other side.
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