“The R500 Caregiver grant has been added again. The top-up added R500 per caregiver, but not per child,” it reads. It was posted on 24 November 2020 and has been viewed more than 2 million times so far.
But its claim is incorrect.
Top-up grant ended in October 2020
In April, president Cyril Ramaphosa announced that beneficiaries of the caregivers grant would receive an extra R500 from June to October.
The caregivers grant is available to South African citizens and permanent residents who need financial assistance to raise children.
The top-up was intended to limit the effects of the national Covid-19 lockdown and was made available per caregiver, rather than per child. If a person cared for three children, they still only received an extra R500, not R500 per child.
But the top-up came to an end in October. This was despite a court application by local human rights organisation, the Black Sash. As of November 2020, caregivers went back to receiving R450 per child.
Several credible news organisations have reported on the cancellation of the top-up grant. The claim that it has been extended beyond October is incorrect. – Africa Check
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Further Reading
‘A time of crisis’: fact-checking South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2023 state of the nation address
As he tried to reignite the enthusiasm of a wearied nation, did the president get his facts right? As we found out, it's all in the details.
[email protected]: The challenges of working across Africa
Misinformation knows no borders and Africa Check often responds to similar false claims from country to country.
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