The R350 grant, also known as the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, was introduced to support South Africa's vulnerable individuals who are unemployed and do not receive any financial support from the government.
The grant is distributed through the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).
One concern applicants and beneficiaries might be having is gaining approval for the grant for one month, but not the other; for example, getting approved and then receiving the grant payout for August, but getting rejected for September.
Sassa undertakes several verification checks to ensure that SRD grant applicants are deserving of the grant they are applying for. One of these verification checks is done by checking the applicant's bank account for funds exceeding the allowed threshold.
A means test is a tool used to determine whether a person is eligible for financial assistance. In the case of the SRD grant, the means test checks if an applicant exceeds the income threshold of R624.
One possible reason for not gaining approval for the R350 grant, is because the income an applicant is receiving is now exceeding the R624 threshold. A requirement for the grant is to earn less than R624.
If an applicant exceeds the income threshold, their grant application will be rejected. But, if the amount of money in their account is below the threshold, they will be approved for payment.
The applicant must also be unemployed, between the age of 19 and 59 years old and not receiving other forms of financial support from the government to be approved for payment.
If your application for August had been approved and paid, but your September application is still pending, the reason could be a backlog of applications that Sassa deals with on a monthly basis.
Because of the backlog, it may take longer for your application status to change. The only thing to do in the meantime is to wait and continuously check your status for when it does change.
Sassa payments are made in various ways. Grants can be paid through a bank account, through your Sassa card, through a Post Office or through CashSend. Your Sassa grant is there to assist you with your basic needs.
