The South African Post Office will begin the distribution of February 2022 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant payments. 

These February SRD grant payments are in the second last scheduled month in which the grant will be distributed in South Africa.  Click Here to view the February SRD grant payment schedule. 

When the grant was reintroduced in August 2021, it was announced that the grant will run until the end of March 2022. 

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has revealed that more than 10 million people are currently benefiting from the SRD grant. Around 15 million people applied for the grant. 

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will deliver his inaugural budget speech later this month. It is expected that he will announce the government's plans around social grant spending during the speech. 

During his 2021 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, the minister said that he will be providing details on government intervention and the country's social security net.

Godongwana did warn that a permanent solution in responding to these challenges is to achieve high and sustained levels of economic growth. 

The minister also revealed that 46% of the country’s population are beneficiries of a social grant. This equates to more than 27 million people. 

In the past month, a group consisting of the Institute for Economic Justice, the Black Sash and Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute met with Godongwana, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu around the SRD grant. 

Black Sash National Director, Rachel Bukasa says the group is calling on the R350 grant to be extended and increased to the food poverty line at least. 

Bukasa revealed that the stakeholders are committed to further engagement around the topic of the extension of the SRD grant. 

The Department of Social Development, headed by Minister Zulu, also commissioned a group of experts to study and investigate the impact of a Basic Income Grant.