Earlier this year, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) announced that they will be releasing funds to beneficiaries who are owed money by the agency.
The unclaimed money is from the first cycle of Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grants. Beneficiaries will have until Tuesday 30 November 2021 to collect any unclaimed money. Failure to collect will result in the money being forfeited to the state.
The initial deadline for collecting grants from the first cycle of payment was 31 August 2021. The decision was then taken to extend the deadline by three months to allow people time to access their money.
SASSA CEO Busisiwe Memela-Khambula called the move an early Christmas while simultaneously praining the visionary leadership of Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu.
She said, “We also acknowledge that this special grant goes a long way in assisting the most vulnerable in society. Therefore we urge approved clients who have unclaimed funds from the previous cycle to collect them as soon as possible”.
The special SRD grant was introduced to assist unemployed citizens between the ages of 18 and 59 during the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
SASSA found that more than 90% of SRD grant recipients used the grants to purchase food. The grant was reintroduced in August 2021 and is expected to end in March 2022.
