Now that we have moved out of the National State of Disaster, Sassa has had to change a few aspects for the Special Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.
The SRD grant was initially managed through the National Disaster Act but since the State of Disaster came to an end and the grant remains, it will now be managed under the Social Relief Assistance Act.
In a statement released by Sassa, the agency said that changes will be made:
Given that the Covid-19 SRD will now be provided for under a new legislative framework, and that additional qualifying and assessment criteria will be added, those in need of assistance will have to apply for the Covid-19 SRD, or reapply if they were previously in receipt of this grant.
Not only will the requirements for the grant be changing, current beneficiaries of the grant will need to submit R350 grant applications again and this will have to be done digitally.
Applications can be submitted by using the Sassa SRD website with more application channels being opened soon.
Sassa also clarified, "All applicants are reminded that they will be considered for the Covid-19 SRD from the month in which the application is lodged, and this will be validated every month. This means that all applications lodged in April will be considered as from April 2022".
As for the requirements, one requirement seems to stand out. Before, the income threshold to qualify was R595, which was inclusive of Child Support Grant beneficiaries but Sassa has now announced that the new income threshold is R350.
Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, who oversees Sassa, is expected to hold a media briefing providing full details on the coming changes soon.
