Proposed amendments to Section 13 of South Africa's Social Assistance Act by Acting Minister Majodina could change SRD grant payment administration for millions of unemployed adults. These amendments include a 12-month extension of the grant, removal of the income threshold questions, and using past data for application processing until May 2025.
The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) criticised the government for only making provision for a short period of public comments. The proposed regulations were published in March and members of the public were only given three weeks to make submissions.
The IEJ’s says this leaves little time for meaningful consultation and added that these last minute decisions create uncertainty and causes real harm “Last-minute decisions cause distress and hardship for millions who rely on the grant to afford basic needs month-to-month.”
IEJ advocate Siyanda Baduza adds that a recent court judgement declaring several aspects of the SRD grant’s administration as unconstitutional was not reflected in the proposed regulations.
A lot of the problematic things that we have pointed to remain in these regulations with the only changes really being extremely minor and not really bringing any substantive change
Following the court ruling, respondents who included Sassa, the DSD and National Treasury applied for leave of appeal, which they were subsequently granted.
Sassa said if the original judgment stands, it could complicate the administration of the grant, but the appeal process is ongoing.
Removal Of SRD Grant Screening Questions
One of the proposed amendments is the removal of screening questions grant applicants have to answer when applying for the grant.
Baduza described one question often posed to applicants as problematic. This question requires applicants to explain how they would survive if the SRD grant wasn't available.
According to Baduza, this inadvertently pushes applicants to self-exclude themselves from receiving grant payments. They also question whether the removal of this regulation could lead to any meaningful change as Sassa has said this was not used recently as a basis for exclusion.
While we do welcome the removal of this questionnaire as a basis for determining eligibility in the regulations, whether it will lead to any meaningful change is likely not going to be the case.
Baduza adds that the use of historical application data defeats the purpose of the means test as it will not be based on the applicant's needs for the month in question.
The DSD said the use of historical data will ensure beneficiaries can access the SRD grant without delays.
The IEJ called on the government to stop last-minute action and annual extensions, and make the SRD grant a permanent, constitutionally-compliant mechanism to support our people and country.
