It seems to be a never ending story when it comes to delays on payments of the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant. Picture: Oupa Mokoena
It seems to be a never ending story when it comes to delays in payment of the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant (SRD).
According to various reports, it looks like there will be another delay in August for South Africans who rely on the welfare deposits.
What could be the reason for this delay? Well it seems that government has implemented new regulations for the grant.
AN INCREASE IN WELFARE
In early August, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu gazetted changes to the grant regulations.
“I, Lindiwe Zulu, Minister responsible for Social Development, with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance, hereby make amendments to the Regulations relating to Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress as set out in the Schedule.”
Zulu is calling or asking that the grants amount be increased from R350 to R642 per month. This is order to align with the food poverty line.
MORE BENEFICIARIES TO RECEIVE THE GRANT
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) said more people can apply for the grant as regulations have been amended.
It said the low number of approved applications for the SRD grant compared to previous iterations was cause for concern for Sassa as well as the Department of Social Development.
Applicants who have an inflow of funds in their bank accounts of less than R624 (for that particular month) qualify to receive the grant with effect from August 2022.
BANK DETAILS
Zulu also said the department was still having challenges with some payments where applicants have not provided banking details.
“We encourage all applicants to provide us with their correct bank details so that we can timeously facilitate their grant payments,” Zulu said.
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