The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) provides social grants to millions of financially vulnerable individuals living in South Africa. Grant beneficiaries were all required to submit a Sassa grant applications prior to receiving relief from the government
The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, commonly known as the R350 grant, is designed to assist unemployed adults in South Africa. Individuals who meet all the eligibility criteria for the grant are encouraged to submit an online application.
While millions of people apply for the grant every month, only around 7 million are approved for payment. Individuals check their Sassa status to confirm if Sassa approved their application.
Individuals whose SRD grant application was rejected have the right to submit an SRD grant appeal.
Concerns have been raised regarding the payment dates for the SRD grant. SRD grants are paid toward the end of a calendar month while other social grants are paid at the beginning of the month.
Sassa explained that the SRD grant operates differently to other grants in that applicants are assessed every month to determine if they meet the eligibility criteria.
This evaluation process by Sassa takes about three weeks, with the time varying based on database retrieval. Sassa says these verification checks are normally completed by the third week of the month, and approved clients receive payments in the following week.
This is why SRD grant are paid to beneficiaries during the final days of the month.
SRD Grant Extension
It was recently announced that the SRD grant would be extended for another year, with the grant now coming to an end in March 2025. This will come as welcomed news for the millions of vulnerable people who rely on the grant.
The 2023 Budget indicated that the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant was only funded until March 2024. Government proposes that the fiscal framework make provision for funding for the grant for 2024/25.
Government revealed that an extension to the SRD Grant will cost R34 billion.
