A lifeline denied: South Africa’s social grant system fails the most vulnerable

The Social Relief of Distress grant (SRD) was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic and remained in place afterwards due to the ongoing distress caused by poverty, unemployment and hunger.

Currently R370 (approx. £16) per month, the SRD grant, whilst small, could be a lifeline for many. However, there are significant injustices in the way the grant is currently administered.

In 2023 the Institute for Economic Justice and #PayTheGrants initiated legal action against the South African government, challenging the exclusionary regulations surrounding the SRD grant. On Tuesday 29 October 2024, the hearing took place.

The legal challenge highlights several critical issues that undermine the grant’s effectiveness and fairness. These include:

• Applications only being available online, excluding those without digital access and literacy;


• Means assessments that classify small personal loans, gifts and ad hoc payments, and payments received on behalf of others as income;


• Verification processes using outdated and incorrect databases;


• An appeals process that does not allow any new evidence;


• Payment delays to approved beneficiaries due to overly complex ID verification processes;


• Cancellation of pending payments after 90 days;


• Failure to adjust the grant value and means-test threshold for inflation;


• An inadequate budget cap that denies millions of eligible applicants, once the yearly budget is met.

This case could set a crucial precedent for the future of social assistance in South Africa, potentially leading to broader reforms in the country’s social grant system to ensure that future programmes are fair, inclusive, and effective.

These are the stories of ten people from two communities in Gauteng, Eldorado Park and Bekkersdaal, who rely on the grant to survive but have been left without payments or with too little to support themselves.

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As a diabetic with high blood pressure, Vanessa Reece needs to eat healthily, ideally vegetables and fresh fish. To do so is well outside of her budget of R370 a month from the SRD grant which also needs to cover household basics and bills.

Instead, she is forced to survive on maize meal, potatoes and cheap junk food to counteract the hunger that is a side effect of her medication.

Vanessa Reece at home in Eldorado Park. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

Vanessa Reece. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

For two years Urika Pais has not received any grant payments because her partner, the father of their three children, is visiting the DRC and is sending them R1,700 per month while he is away.

These payments are considered a source of income, rating her ineligible for the nominal support payment of R370 per month.

“They have access to phone numbers and bank accounts, you give them the right to do everything. I tried to appeal, but it never works out. Applying and reapplying all costs money.”

Urika Pais at home in Eldorado Park. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

Urika Pais. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

Tshepo Legoase borrowed R800 from his older brother in June of this year. Since then, for the last four months, he has been rejected for the SRD grant based on having a “source of income”.

Although he has tried to appeal, the sim card that he originally registered with has been lost, so he cannot receive the one-time confirmation PIN numbers that are sent to him. He says that there is no way to update his primary phone number and nobody to assist.

Tshepo Legoase at home in Bekkersdal.(Photo: Thom Pierce)

Tshepo Legoase. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

At 20 years old, Tshegofatso Cawe lives with her mum and is studying Human Resource Management.

She was hoping to be able to claim the R370 grant to help her with transport to get to and from college but she has been denied it on many occasions because her father occasionally sends her small amounts of money.

Tshegofatso Cawe at home in Bekkersdal.(Photo: Thom Pierce)

Tshegofatso Cawe. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

Since the mines have closed, like many others, Oupa Maboke has been unable to find work. He has been waiting for his unemployment insurance (UIF) payments for eight months but nothing has come through.

Even though he is not receiving UIF, it is the reason that his R370 grant application is being rejected every month. With no support, he has no means to travel and increasingly less chance of finding a job.

“I’m not surviving, I’m not coping. There is no income at all. I cannot see my kids because I cannot go empty-handed,” he says.

Oupa Maboke at home in Bekkersdal.(Photo: Thom Pierce)

Oupa Moboke. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

After first applying for the grant in 2020, George Stigling had to upgrade his ID from a book to the more current smart card to comply with their verification process.

The upgrade itself was costly and George had to borrow money from friends to afford it.

After two years, the payment resumed but he has not received the 20 payments that he was entitled to, meaning he now has to navigate the insufficient appeals system to rectify the situation.

George Stigling at home in Eldorado Park.(Photo: Thom Pierce)

George Stigling. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

Elizabeth Raiters is 48 years old and survives on donations from her family because she cannot receive the SRD grant that she has applied for. It is declined on a monthly basis because she gets a R300 data allocation for her voluntary work which is paid into her bank account. This is classed as a source of income and given as a reason to deny her monthly support.

Elizabeth Raiters at home in Eldorado Park. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

Elizabeth Raiters. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

When Charmain Robertha’s husband passed away, she was left as the sole provider for their 15-year-old daughter.

Since then, she has had to rely on assistance from her friends and family to buy food and pay the bills. As little as R200 (approx. £9) has been enough for her to be denied the SRD grant due to “source of income”.

Charmain finds herself in an impossible situation.

If she borrows money she may lose out on the grant but if she does not, she cannot survive.

Charmain Robertha Martin at home in Eldorado Park.(Photo: Thom Pierce)

Charmain Robertha Martin. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

Whilst studying Boamogetswe Mogopi received a student grant for the first two semesters but was subsequently rejected when her sister lent her some money. Without the student grant, she had to quit her course and look for work.

On applying for the SRD grant she has been continuously rejected as her student grant is still appearing as active on the system, and there is no way for her to cancel it.

At 21, she is left with no way to study and with no support while she tries to find work.

Boamogetswe Mogopi at home in Bekkersdal. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

Boamogetswe Mogapi. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

Dalene Cindy Raiters’ grant payments stopped when she was flagged for identity verification. As her ID documents had been damaged in a flood, she had to obtain a new ID card.

She eventually started to receive the benefit again and, as she had been unpaid for two years, she was owed back pay, which was paid to her monthly as an additional payment of R370. Her grant was then declined as the R740 coming into her account was seen to be over the income threshold, making her then ineligible for the grant.

Dalene Cindy Raiters at home in Eldorado Park. (Photo: Thom Pierce)

Dalene Cindy. (Photo: Thom Pierce) DM

www.positive-activism.org/pay-the-grants