The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) faced criticism recently as many of the individuals who previously benefited from the R350 grant no longer qualify for the grant. This has left many in dire need of support.
Fanie Sethokga, General Manager of Grants Operation at Sassa, explained that the change in the legislation under which the grant was provided resulted in several changes to administrative processors.
One change in the application process now requires grant applicants to answer questions when applying. These questions were formulated to ensure that R350 grant applicants were deserving of the relief. If Sassa makes the determination that your answers make you ineligible for the grant, you’ll receive a “Self Exclusionary Response Found” SRD Status.
Click Here To Read What This SRD Status Means.
They explained that to ensure the affordability of the R350 grant, the income threshold for the grant was changed. This change resulted in the income threshold being moved from R595 to R350. Income was also defined as money entering your bank account.
This meant that if a client has an amount of R350 or above in their banking account, they won't qualify for the grant. Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has gazetted a proposal that could result in the threshold being changed.
Click Here For More Information About Minister Zulu’s R350 Grant Income Threshold.
It's also important to note that clients need to provide their personal bank details. Verification of these bank accounts have also created challenges with the old R350 grant reconsideration requests.
Sethokga explained that these bank verification checks have not yet been completed for all the successful R350 grant appeals. This has meant that some individuals with successful appeal applications have not been paid.
They also highlighted the importance of checking your R350 grant status on the website before going to the bank to collect your R350 grant.
This is why grant applicants were encouraged to provide their personal cell phone numbers when they applied for the grant. This as Sassa will send an SMS to let a client know when their grant is available for collection.
