The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has revealed that approximately nine million people are currently benefiting from the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. Civil organisations believe that more can be done to ensure the grant achieves its intended purpose.
Last month, the Department of Social Development (DSD) proposed several amendments to the legislation surrounding the SRD grant. These amendments aimed at refining the administration and distribution of the grant to ensure it effectively reaches eligible beneficiaries during ongoing economic challenges.
The amendments also aimed to prevent and recover funds from irregular payments, empowering the agency to reclaim monies from ineligible or improperly benefiting individuals. Additionally, amendments addressed the issue of uncollected benefits, including reclaiming funds from beneficiaries who failed to update their personal and banking details within 90 days of notification.
The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ), along with #PayTheGrants, believes that the additional criteria in the government's proposed regulations could lead to further exclusion errors. They added that the government's prioritisation of reducing inclusion errors neglects the constitutional duty to address exclusion errors.
The proposed amendments to the regulations relating to the SRD grant must be read in this context. The insertion of additional criteria in the regulations raises the significant risk of further exclusion error
They explain that the SRD grant faces significant challenges, including high exclusion errors, which they believe directly result from the grant's inadequate budget allocation. This contravenes the constitutional obligation to progressively realise the right to social assistance, according to the IEJ.
Government agencies have conceded that they prioritise the reduction of inclusion errors over the reduction of exclusion errors. This approach directly leads to a higher rate of exclusion and undermines the constitutional obligation of the government to progressively realise the right to social assistance.
The IEJ also expressed concerns regarding the proposed amendment of regulation 6A, which deals with the recovery of funds from irregular beneficiaries. They warned that the amendments lack clarity and raise concerns about retrospective application and unfair recovery measures.
The provision to cancel payments after 90 days if applicants are deemed untraceable or fail to update details places an undue burden on beneficiaries affected by administrative inefficiencies. We oppose its insertion in the regulations.
The IEJ also criticised the proposal that would hold SRD grant applications accountable for ensuring correct contact details. They believe this disregards systemic barriers to communication and digital exclusion among vulnerable populations.
SRD Grant Increase
The proposed amendments by the DSD to Regulation 5 include retaining the value of the SRD grant at R350 per month. However, it was recently revealed that the monetary value of the SRD grant would be increased to R370.
This equates to a 5.7% increase in value.
The IEJ called for a greater increase in the grant’s value to address inflation and adequately alleviate poverty.
They explained that the stagnation in value is deemed contrary to the government's constitutional obligation to progressively improve social assistance.
While the government has now increased the value of the grant, stakeholders emphasised the importance of real increases, compensation for past losses, alignment with other relevant social grants, and benchmarking against poverty lines for meaningful progress.
