The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) is responsible for disbursing roughly 29 million social grants to some of the most vulnerable individuals in South Africa. They provide several different types of social grants; including the Older Person's Grant, Child Support Grant, War Veterans Grant, Disability Grant, and others.
Among these grants is the Social Relief of Distress grant, commonly referred to as the SRD grant or R350 grant. The South African government introduced this grant during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide financial assistance to those who were receiving no income.
The R350 grant has been extended several times due to the number of citizens who rely on it to meet their basic needs.
What To Do If You Don't Have A Payment Date For The SRD Grant
Sassa has advised beneficiaries of the SRD grant who chose the CashSend payment method as their payment option and have no payment dates, to provide their banking details on the Sassa website.
It is important to do this, as recipients may not have a payment date due to the failure of their mobile number verification. This may be because the beneficiary provided an incorrect contact number, or the number is not registered under their name.
It is also important for beneficiaries to provide their own banking details, as their grants will not be paid into another person’s bank account. This is to ensure that the grant payment goes to the correct person and to avoid fraudulent activities.
The mobile number on which beneficiaries receive the SMS for the CashSend payment method must be registered in their name. This is because Sassa will not pay the grant payment to a mobile number which is registered to another person to prevent any fraudulent activity and to ensure that only qualifying individuals receive payments.
Beneficiaries who chose the CashSend payment method and have payment dates on their status have been urged to contact the bank they have selected if they haven't received their voucher.
Sassa has also stated that these beneficiaries can contact the bank they are registered with if they have mistakenly deleted the message with the voucher so that the bank can resend the voucher.
Bank Contact Numbers For CashSend Queries:
- ABSA - 0 800 000 122
- Tyme Bank - 0860 999 119
- Nedbank - 0 800 555 111
- FNB - 0875 759 405
- Standard Bank - 0860 466 639
Where To Collect Your R350 Grant
- Personal bank accounts
- Pick n Pay
- Boxer Stores
- Checkers
- Shoprite
- Usave
- Selected OK Foods Supermarkets
Sassa has reminded beneficiaries that they do not need to collect their grants on the date that they are available, as the grant will remain in their accounts until it is needed. Recipients can avoid long queues by only collecting their Sassa grants when needed.
Eligibility Criteria For The Social Relief Of Distress Grant
The SRD grant is provided to South African citizens, refugees, permanent residents, asylum seekers and special permit holders. Recipients need to be between the ages of 18 and 60 years old. If you are 60 years old or over, you may qualify for an Older Person's Grant instead.
To qualify for the SRD grant, applicants will need to be unemployed and not currently receiving any salary, form of income or bursary, such as the one from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
You also do not qualify for the R350 grant if you are receiving any other social grant from Sassa. Ensure that you meet the necessary eligibility criteria before submitting your SRD grant application, otherwise, you will be rejected.
If you stop receiving your SRD grant, it is because you no longer meet the eligibility criteria. This may be because you are now receiving an income that Sassa has picked up.
How To Receive Your SRD Grant Payment
Sassa makes social grant payments in various ways, allowing the beneficiary to choose the option that best suits them
- Grants can be paid directly to the recipient’s bank account
- Through the recipients’ Sassa card
- Through CashSend
- From one of the retail merchants mentioned above
Should your SRD grant application be rejected, Sassa has allowed appeals to be submitted for unsuccessful applicants to be reconsidered.
How To Lodge An Appeal For The SRD Grant
If you applied for the SRD grant but were rejected, and believe that this rejection was unfair or incorrect, Sassa allows applicants to lodge an appeal within 90 days of receiving their rejection. However, Sassa encourages applicants to submit an appeal within 30 days.
- Visit the Sassa SRD appeals website
- Click on the green bar that says 'click here to lodge an appeal or check appeal status'
- Enter your ID number
- Enter your cellphone number
- Click 'send pin' and wait for the SMS which will contain the verification pin
- Enter the pin and click 'submit'
- Select the month you are submitting an appeal for
- Select the drop down arrow and choose the reason for your appeal
- Click 'submit'
Make sure that your personal details, including your bank account information and your contact number, are correct to avoid your application being rejected again. If Sassa has unfairly declined your application, you will be paid from the date on which you submitted your application.
Additionally, you must appeal for each month that your request was rejected.
How To Track Your SASSA R350 Grant Appeal
You must do a status check on your appeal to make sure that you appeal hasn't got lost in the Sassa system. To check on your SASSA grant appeal status you need to have your ID number with you.
This is how you research you grant appeal and find out your grant appeal status.
- Go to Sassa Appeals Website
- Enter ID number
- Enter telephone number
- Track appeal
You can also call the Sassa Call Centre on their cellphone number which is 0800 601 011. If you've already submitted an appeal, you don't need to submit another or contact the Sassa office.
The outcome of your appeal will be relayed through a confirmation message via SMS.
Once your Sassa SRD status check appeal has been confirmed successful, payments will then be made from the month you initially applied. You should make sure that Sassa has your bank account details so that the grant can be paid to you directly.
History of the Sassa R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant
The President declared a National State of Disaster as a result of the Covid-19 global pandemic. In this regard he introduced a special Covid 19 Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD) of R350 per month to be paid to individuals who are currently unemployed, do not receive any form of income, social grant or UIF payment etc. Civil society groups have criticised the grant for being too low.
As it currently stands, the grant will be paid to beneficiaries until March of 2024. The minister warned that any permanent extension or replacement will require permanent increases in revenue, reductions in spending elsewhere, or a combination of the two.
Sassa's social grants programmes help to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality, making a significant impact on the lives of millions of people. Sassa is part of the Social Development Department and operates under the Social Assistance Act.
Sassa co-ordinates with the Department of Home Affairs so applications are compared against the Home Affairs database to check they are correct. The government has also set up the Social Development independent tribunal under the Administrative justice act to review appeals. Having an independent tribunal separate to the main Sassa staff ensures impartiality.
While the agency has faced some challenges, including issues related to fraud and corruption, it remains an essential part of the country's social protection system.
