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According to the South African Social Security Agency, less than 12 million people filed for the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant in August (Sassa).

This is a result of the Department of Social Development publishing revised regulations that increased the means test income cutoff from R350 to R625 and included the increase.

As a result, starting in August 2022, applicants who have deposited less than R624 into their bank accounts for that month are qualified to receive the grant.

Regulations were changed as a result of the Department of Social Development and Sassa’s concern over the low number of Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) applications that were approved.

According to Sassa, some of the regulations drew criticism from the public since they were thought to be unconstitutional and to unfairly disqualify some prospective applicants.

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“Sassa welcomes this new development, and the organization is confident that more deserving candidates will now have access to this funding,” the agency said.

The agency encountered some delays and challenges with evaluations for July 2022 as a result of the former laws’ requirement that recipients reconfirm their subsidies every three months. Fewer people confirmed their grants once more as a result. However, due to the release of the new regulations, the July evaluations will shortly be concluded.

“We are still having issues with some payments because some applicants did not give us their banking information. “We encourage all applicants to submit us with their exact bank details so that we can arrange their award payments immediately,” said Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu.

According to Sassa, the Covid-19 SRD continues to pay R350 per individual for each month that qualifies.

In addition to raising the income criteria, the government has implemented extra checks and balances to make sure that people who qualify for the award are prioritized over those who do not.

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Brenton van Vrede, the chief director of the Department of Social Developments, informed Parliament that a new law had been adopted mandating clients not to “unreasonably refuse” to take career or educational possibilities when offered.

SOCIAL GRANTS