Linda Ensor
2 September 2004
Johannesburg — GOVERNMENT is to probe a sharp increase in the disbursement of the disability grant, which has more than doubled from R4bn to R10,3bn in the past four years.
Disabled people qualify for a state grant of R740 a month .
It is suspected that fraud, poverty and the illegal payment of disability grants to HIV/AIDS sufferers lay behind the rapid increase in the number of disability beneficiaries from 612614 in April 2000 to 1,27million in April this year.
"It seems to have been abused in some cases and used almost as a form of a grant for those who don't qualify for any other grant," said Ismail Momoniat, deputy director-general of intergovernmental fiscal relations in the national treasury.
"Anecdotal evidence is that it is being dished out very easily, perhaps more for the unemployed than for those with HIV/AIDS," Momoniat said.
Momoniat said HIV/AIDS sufferers did not qualify to receive disability grants, but the treasury believed that the grant was being extended to them.
He said government had closely examined the disbursement of the disability grant to ensure that it complied with the legislation.
Momoniat spoke after tabling a report titled Trends in Intergovernmental Finances from 2000-01 to 2006-07 in Parliament yesterday.
"Highest growths were recorded in Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and North West," the report said.
Eastern Cape paid out about R2,4bn in disability grants to 301415 beneficiaries in 2003-04, and KwaZulu-Natal R2,3bn to 284163 beneficiaries. These two provinces exceeded their 2003-04 social development budgets by R605m and R619m respectively.
Momoniat said that seven provinces exceeded their social welfare budgets last year, partly due to pressures from disability grants.
A multidepartmental task team had been set up to examine enforcement issues.
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