Nevertheless, President Ramaphosa did confirm this week at SONA<\/a>\u00a0that the SASSA SRD change to income support will take place in 2026. So, is it yet more pie-in-the-sky thinking from the president, like bullet trains and smart cities? Or will Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana have to make good on the Ramaphosa\u2019s promise in the 2026 Budget Speech?<\/p>\n FISCUS CANNOT AFFORD IT<\/p>\n Unfortunately, it appears Minister Godongwana has lost the battle to implement higher taxes for the SASSA SRD change to income support. As far back as 2024, the National Treasury has argued a new revenue source or reprioritising of spending would be needed to afford the expanded social grant<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, following the 2025 Budget debacle, experts believe the department\u2019s options are severely limited. Previously, the Treasury said, criteria dependent, funding a SASSA SRD change to income support could cost the fiscus as much as R400 billion. That\u2019s more than ten-times higher than the current \u2018temporary\u2019 SRD budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n CONFUSION OVER SASSA SRD CHANGE TO INCOME SUPPORT<\/p>\n As such, Bank of America\u2019s Tatonga Rusike says there\u2019s very little likelihood of another major tax increase. And therefore little wiggle room for reallocating spending to the SASSA SRD change to income support. He says securing extra money for the grant was lost after the 2025 Budget had to be revised three times<\/a> due to political infighting over proposed value-added tax (VAT) increases.<\/p>\n Surprisingly, core SASSA grants like Older Persons and Disability<\/a>, still increased above inflation last year (4.8%). However, improved inflation in 2025 (3.2%) also lowers the bar for 2026 SASSA grant increases in the upcoming Budget Speech. Therefore, government\u2019s only way to increase state revenue is through spending cuts or reallocation of existing budgets.<\/p>\n DELAY THE DECISION TILL 2027<\/p>\n However, Rusike says one way to clarify the SASSA SRD change to income support would be to simply delay the decision. SASSA SRD is currently slated to run out till March 2027 <\/a>, therefore, government can reasonably delay the decision until 2027, after the next municipal elections. Increasing taxes in an election year will always be unpopular with voters. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SASSA-SRD-change-to-income-support_4.jpg.optimal.jpg\")
The legality of several SRD regulations has been debated in the High Court already. Image: File <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SASSA-SRD-change-to-income-support_2.jpg.optimal.jpg\")
Pushing the shift back to March 2027 seems like the most sensible decision for government. Image: File <\/p>\n