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Child Support Grant (CSG)
Programme
Country
Geographic area
Child Support Grant (CSG)
South Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Previous programme name (if any) State Maintenance Grant (SMG) 1
Start date 1998 2
Programme objectives
Programme type
Programme components
Conditionalities (if any)
To reduce poverty and promote investments in the
physical, social and human capital of poor children. 3
Unconditional cash transfer
Targeting methods Categorical targeting combined with means-testing. 1
Target areas
Target groups
Eligibility criteria
Eligibility reassessment (if any)
Type of benefits
Amount of benefits
Nationwide
Poor children under 18 years of age
The primary caregiver must be a South African citizen,
permanent resident or refugee;
Both the applicant and the child must reside in South Africa;
The applicant must be the primary caregiver
of the child/children concerned;
The child must be under the age of 18;
The caregiver cannot apply for more than six
non-biological children;
The child cannot be cared for in a state institution; and
The caregiver is subject to a means-test threshold of ZAR3,300
per month (or annual income of ZAR39,600) in 2015; if the
caregiver is married then the combined threshold is double
(ZAR 6,600 a month and/or ZAR79,200 per annum).
The Child Support Grant underwent eligibility reassessment
regarding age requirements (at the beginning of the programme,
the age threshold was seven years old, whereas currently, the age
threshold is 18 years old) and adjustments to the income threshold to
take inflation into account and improve equity. 1
Cash
The amount changes every year, but the Child
Support Grant is currently ZAR330 monthly, per child. 4
Payment/delivery frequency Monthly 4
Benefit delivery mechanism
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) uses a privatised
payment contractor, which pays the grant into the beneficiaries’ bank
accounts, which can be withdrawn at designated pay points,
contracted merchant stores or automatic teller machines (ATMs).
Benefit recipient The recipient of the benefit is the child’s primary caregiver. 1
Minimum and maximum
duration of benefits (if any)
The child may receive the grant from birth until their 18 th birthday
so long as the eligibility criteria are met. The grant lapses in the
following cases:
• if the child passes away;
• if the child is admitted to a state institution;
• if the caregiver does not claim it for three consecutive months; or
• if the child is absent from the country at the end of the year in
which the child turns 18.
Social Protection in Africa: inventory of non-contributory programmes | 129