Millions of vulnerable South Africans rely on social grants for survival, with over 18 million permanent grants distributed by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) monthly.
Permanent grants distributed by the agency include the Older Persons pension grant, Disability grant, War Veterans grant, Care Dependency grant, Foster Child grant, Child Support grant, Child Support grant Top-Up and Grant-in-aid.
However, a recent audit by the Auditor-General revealed that the Department of Social Development (DSD) underspent on the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, which is critical for unemployed individuals. This underspending is partly due to stricter eligibility criteria, including a lower income threshold and bank verification requirements.
Additionally, the audit raised concerns about unresolved irregular expenditures at Sassa and missed targets, such as timely appeals adjudication and the implementation of key policies.
Civil Society Calls For Improvement
Black Sash has expressed concern over the Auditor General's report revealing that Sassa underspent by R4 billion on SRD grants, despite many eligible beneficiaries being rejected. They explained that several barriers are limiting access to social grants.
They added that the lack of a system to track inquiries and constant issues with Sassa’s online platform excludes vulnerable people who need a social grant.
It is concerning that Sassa has returned R4 billion while many beneficiaries are rejected. Furthermore, there are barriers in the SRD grants that have resulted in vulnerable people being excluded from accessing the grants. The underspending by Sassa therefore remains deeply problematic as several beneficiaries are left without dignity and rejected unfairly.
Black Sash expressed concern with Sassa’s promotion of online application portals. The add that the push for child support grant applications to be done online creates further obstacles for low-income applicants.
"Sassa’s push for an exclusively online platform for the SRD grant and now urging particularly, CSG applicants to make use of their online application system, all whilst knowing that South Africa has the highest rates of inequality, unemployment and poverty and is plagued by access challenges by the poorest of the poor seems to seek to exclude rather than include those who should qualify for grants."
They say in some areas, Sassa offices are flat-out refusing to assist individuals with grant applications.
Black Sash has received calls from various CSG applicants in parts of the country who are claiming that Sassa local offices in the Durban area amongst others are refusing to assist them to apply for their grants at offices and are stating that this can only be done online.
The organisation warned that Sassa’s shift towards remote work could lead to office closures, further limiting access to support.
"We call on Sassa to consult with civil society and beneficiaries before taking such extreme measures and to ensure that a hybrid means of accessing all grants will continue to be available for all."