More than 10-million destitute individuals dependent on the government’s R350 monthly social relief of distress (SRD) grant did not receive payments for April and May in what civil society organisations have called a “scandal and a national disgrace”.
The problem arose because of the introduction of a means test by the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) in terms of which only those receiving a monthly income of less than R350 (previously R595) would qualify for the grant. This required confirmation of monthly income by the banks, which has been delayed because the Treasury imposed new conditions on their doing so on April 30.
Grant beneficiaries were told on April 22 that they would be required to reapply for the grant under these restricted criteria, and that they had seven days to do so in order to receive their April payment.
Civil society organisations said in a joint statement that "around R8bn has been withheld from people who are confronting hunger and desperation when unemployment continues to rise. The new conditions mean that a large number of people who previously qualified for the grant will no longer qualify.”
The organisations had little confidence that the problems would have been resolved by mid-June for Sassa to pay the grants.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the extension of the SRD grant from April 1 2022 to end-March 2023 in his February state of the nation address and R44bn was provided for it in the budget, which will cater for 10.5-million beneficiaries.
According to the joint statement, social development minister Lindiwe Zulu has confirmed that while 13.4-million people have no income and 18.3-million live below the poverty datum line, the budget for the SRD grant only provides for 10.5-million beneficiaries, which is 400,000 fewer than the number of approved applications in March 2022.
Among the demands being made by civil society organisations is an immediate increase to the income eligibility threashhold from R350 to the food poverty line of R624, and an immediate lifting of the budget cap of R44bn to cater for all who qualify for the SRD grant.
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