news24 sassa 2023-2024

The R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD), which was made accessible to unemployed South Africans during the protracted lockdown period, has been extended by an additional three months.
Registered beneficiaries who have previously received payment should ensure their profiles are up to date, even though they are not needed to reapply.
However, merely signing up does not ensure that you will be paid in the future months.

To help those who lost their jobs as a result of the lockout, the R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD), which is managed by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), has been extended for an additional three months. Recipients who are already registered with the system do not have to apply again.

After more than R16 billion had been distributed to almost 6.5 million users every month since May of last year, the grant just ran out in January 2021.

In his State of the Nation Address on Thursday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the grant would be renewed, citing persistent socioeconomic challenges imposed on by tight laws.

Sassa’s administrative processes were put under a great deal of stress by the sheer volume of applications it received last year. Because of the overloaded online platforms, applicants claimed that their rejections were “unfair”. The agency created an appeals process with the intention of reevaluating applications on an individual basis in response to strong public pressure.

The most recent extension takes into account both the application and appeal processes. Sassa makes it clear that those who are already registered on the system—those who have received payment within the last nine months or who have already filed an appeal—do not need to reapply. The applicant’s profile must be updated using the SRD’s online portal whenever their contact information or residential address changes.

To benefit from this extension, any SRD beneficiary is not necessary to travel to local Sassa offices. The agency is feverishly trying to eliminate lines and human contact at its offices after the unexpected termination of Temporary Disability Grants, which caused a commotion at Sassa sites.

The organization has also instructed all grant recipients who picked up their awards at the South African Post Office to register bank accounts and update their deposit details via the SRD portal.

Sassa has emphasized that merely being on the system does not guarantee payment during the extension period, even if applicants are not obliged to reapply. Instead, as it has done since the SRD’s founding, the agency will keep evaluating applications on a monthly basis.

In addition, the appeal window, which was supposed to shut down on February 28th, will be extended. Registered applicants who are rejected the R350 grant over the ensuing three months may appeal if they believe their refusal was unfair. For applicants who have already filed repeals, there is no need to file further appeals.

Sassa has told applicants who were accepted in January but hadn’t yet received a payment that payments made through the mail, direct deposits, and mobile money transfers will still be honored despite the fact that there is currently a backlog of appeals.

SOCIAL GRANTS