Children’s Institute disappointed in Manuel’s decision on child support grant

By Cindy Witten
12 February 2009

The University of Cape Town’s Children’s institute is disappointed in Finance Minister Trevor Manuels budget speech, regarding the child support grant (CSG).

According to the Children’s Institute child rights programme manager, Paula Proudlock, the extension of children eligible to receive a grant up to their 15th birthday, is not news to them.
“He actually announced the extension to 15-years-old in his last years budget speech in February 2008, so there’s nothing new in the 2009 budget speech. We are quite disappointed because he didn’t announce any further extensions,” Proudlock said.

Proudlock says that in the Presidents State of the Nation Address, he announced that the child support grant would be progressively extended to the age of 18 and that he committed the government to that extension.

“We were a bit confused to see that Manuel hasn’t made any further extensions,” she said.