The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) is anticipated to disburse Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant payments to over 8 million recipients in April 2024. This month marks the debut of an increased SRD grant payment for beneficiaries.
In March 2024, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced a rise in the SRD grant payment from R350 to R370, reflecting a 5.7% increase for the grant.
Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu confirmed the R20 SRD grant increase in Government Notice No. R. 3210 dated 29 March 2023.
The monthly amount of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress is [R350] R370 per person and is payable for the months in the period 1 April [2023] 2024 to 31 March [2024] 2025.
Minister Zulu has announced significant updates to the SRD Grant in official gazettes. These revisions will affect beneficiaries in various situations.
"These Regulations are called the Amendment Regulations Relating to COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress, 2024 and come into operation on 01 April 2024 by publication of the Notice in the Gazette," said the Minister.
The Gazette has confirmed the addition of regulations 6A, 6B, and 6C to the SRD grant rules. These regulations cover fund recovery, beneficiary details, and the handling of beneficiary deaths.
Section 6A: Recovery of Funds
Section 6A grants Sassa the power to reclaim funds given to beneficiaries. There are various scenarios under which Sassa can reclaim funds.
The primary scenario involves instances where ineligible individuals received SRD grant payments. In such cases, these individuals are required to repay the full amount they received incorrectly from Sassa.
Sassa can also reclaim funds from beneficiaries who don't respond to the agency's requests for personal information or bank details.
The applicant who has not responded to the communication of the Agency as contemplated in sub regulation (2) must be given another 90 days to respond before the application is cancelled and the money is forfeited to the State.
Therefore, it's crucial for beneficiaries to provide accurate cellphone numbers because Sassa won't be responsible for messages sent to wrong numbers.
"It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the Agency has his or her current mobile number and the Agency bears no liability for any communication sent to an incorrect mobile number provided by the applicant," read the Gazette.
Grant beneficiaries must also ensure that Sassa has their accurate banking details for bank verification and payments to be processed smoothly.
Section 6B: Death of a Beneficiary
According to Section 6B of the regulations, if a recipient of the SRD grant passes away, their grant will end at the conclusion of the month in which they died, leading to the end of SRD grant payments.
The COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant will lapse on the last day of the month in which the beneficiary died.
Section 6C: Ensuring Uninterrupted SRD Grant Payments
Section 6C outlines a temporary measure to ensure continuity during the transition to the new system. Sassa will utilize a beneficiary's March 2024 assessment information to assess eligibility for an SRD grant payment.
To ensure uninterrupted assessments and payments made during the transition between the Regulations published on 29 March 2023 under Notice No: and these Amendment Regulations, the Agency may use data used during the March 2024 assessment cycle, in terms of regulation 2, for continued assessments of clients up to 31 May 2024.
This arrangement will remain in effect until May 2024.
