SASSA ATTENDS THE AFRICA CHILDREN’S SUMMIT

By Happiness Zwane

• Representatives of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) joined the Africa Children’s Summit in Johannesburg.
• SASSA’s Child Support Grants play a vital role in providing financial support to low-income families in South Africa and help keep children in school for longer.
• As Minister of Social Development Sisisi Tolashe noted in her opening address, education plays an important role in changing the lives of children in Africa.

As children from across Africa met in Johannesburg for the second Africa Children’s Summit, they were joined by representatives from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

The agency joined the Department of Social Development and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund in celebration of the Africa Children’s Summit, under the theme ‘Seen, heard and engaged’.

The 2025 summit is aimed at championing child participation in shaping the future of children on the continent and also to promote child-centred dialogue and advocacy.

Today, 5 April 2025, Africa’s children met to discuss challenges that impact their wellbeing.

SASSA Acting CEO Themba Matlou stated that the summit is a very important event, especially in taking note of the issues raised by the Children’s Parliament, as that is where children engage on various issues of concern to them.

Matlou urged child social grant recipients to continue encouraging each other and that coming from a poor background should not hinder them from pursuing their dreams.

In March this year, SASSA was allocated a budget of R284.7-billion towards social grants, which included a R30 increase in the Child Support Grant, which now sits at R560 per month, and an additional R70 increase for the Foster Care Grant, which is now R1 250 per child per month.

SASSA’s Child Support Grant plays a vital role in providing financial support to low-income families to meet fundamental needs for their children.

The Child Support Grant also enables vulnerable children to attain improved living conditions, better education, and access to healthcare.

Speaking at the Africa Children’s Summit, Minister of Social Development Sisisi Tolashe stressed that a good education is important to improving the lives of African children, but that a lack of financial resources meant many children in Africa could not afford to go to school.

The minister noted that more than 100 million children do not have access to school, and of the children who enrolled in primary school, over 100 million drop out because of their parents’ inability to pay school levies.

Minister Tolashe told the gathering that, sad as it is, it is not surprising that a large portion of the African population still lives below the poverty line.