During a recent parliamentary sitting Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu revealed that more than 13 million people applied for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. Of the million who applied, only between 7,4 to 7,6 million individuals are approved for payment monthly.
The statistics revealed during the sitting showed that individuals between the ages of 20 years old and 35 years old accounted for more than 53% of the total SRD grant applicants as of 24 January 2023.
It was also revealed that more females are applying for the SRD grant than males. A total of 56% of SRD grant applicants were females which equates to 7,48 million applicants. Just below 6 million males applied for the SRD grant.
Around 40% of SRD grant applicants had achieved a National Senior Certificate (NSC) as their highest qualification. Matriculants accounted for around 40%. This was slightly higher than the 39.3% of SRD grant recipients who completed grade 10 as their highest level of education.
It was also revealed that 716,000 of the total SRD grant applicants were graduates of tertiary education institutions. This equated to around 5,3% of all grant applicants.
The total number of non-citizens that applied for the SRD grant stood at 14,894 applicants. At least 9,650 of these applicants were holders of the Lesotho Exemption Permit. 3,960 applicants were asylum seekers, 711 applicants were Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Holders and 569 applicants were Angolan Special Permit Holders.
The government will continue paying the SRD grant until March 2024. If the grant is not extended beyond March 2024, more than seven million people could be left without critical support every month. The government is looking at replacements for the SRD grant.
