‘Exclusionary rules’ for R370-a-month social grant to be challenged in court in October

2 Sep 2024

#PayTheGrants and the Institute for Economic Justice say regulations exclude many people who are eligible, but the government disagrees.

A challenge to the rules for the R370-a-month Social Relief of Distress grant will be heard in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria on 29 and 30 October.

In 2023, #PayTheGrants and the Institute for Economic Justice filed an application at the court to challenge regulations that they say exclude many eligible people from getting the grant.

The minister of social development and the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) have been listed as respondents in the application. The minister of finance is also a respondent.

The Social Relief of Distress grant was introduced in 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as an emergency measure to alleviate extreme poverty and hunger. It was to be paid for six months from May 2020 to October 2020, but each year since then, it has been extended. The grant was increased in April from R350 to R370 a month.

Only people earning up to R625 a month are eligible for the grant. Every month, Sassa monitors recipients’ bank accounts to check their income.

In the court application, #PayTheGrants and the IEJ argue that the government’s definition of “income” is too broad, since it includes financial support from family and friends. They want the court to rule that “income” should only be money received from employment, business activities or investments.

Grant and income threshold

They also want the court to rule that the grant and income threshold for eligibility should be increased to take inflation and the cost of living into account.

They also challenge the way Sassa uses databases, including those of the South African Revenue Service, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and the Unemployment Insurance Fund, to verify income. They say some of the databases are inaccurate, and want the court to declare the database verification unlawful and unconstitutional. They say bank verification does not consider fluctuations in the recipients’ income, and want the court to prohibit bank verification.

Applications for the Social Relief of Distress grant can only be made online, unlike other social grants that can be applied for in person. The Institute for Economic Justice and #PayTheGrants say some applicants cannot access the internet and want the court to rule that in-person applications should be allowed.

They say the current appeal process does not allow an applicant for the grant to bring forward new evidence, and they want the appeal process to be declared irrational and unreasonable.

Government response

In his affidavit, Department of Social Development chief director of legal services Ebenezer Nkosinathi Dladla defended the online application system.

“The cellphone data does not even require data, and one cellphone number can be used by five applicants,” he said.

“The process is so easy, in that all Social Relief of Distress applicants can choose their method of application being either the special SRD website which guides them with questions through the process, or the WhatsApp channel which does the same. This process does not even take more than 20 minutes,” said Dladla.

He said the grant was “one of the most successful” in the country. “The online method is the most effective and efficient,” he said. “The entire world is technologically transforming, and so is South Africa.”

He said applicants without smartphones “can use their family members’, neighbours’ and peers’ cellphones”.

“The online application for the grant is not complicated at all… if they are in the rural areas they can go to the tribal authority and/or the community leader in the village to request assistance,” said Dladla

Dladla said the online process was easier than visiting Sassa offices and reiterated that a manual process would be “regressive” and would delay timely assistance. He dismissed the unconstitutionality claims.

In his affidavit, Sassa executive manager Brenton van Vrede defended the use of government databases in the Social Relief of Distress grant verification system. This prevents “double-dipping” by applicants who receive funds from other government institutions and apply for the grant.

He said that using multiple databases for verification is both “reasonable and necessary”.

Sassa verifies more than 15 million Social Relief of Distress applications monthly, he said, and the number of approved beneficiaries ranges from 7.5 million to 8.5 million each month.

Van Vrede said Sassa had “limited human resource capacity” and that adding manual processes could lead to staff strikes, which would harm those seeking assistance.

Appeal process

On the appeal process, Van Vrede said that if an application was declined, applicants could appeal on the Department of Social Development’s website, with a turnaround time of 90 days. If the appeal was successful, Sassa would process the payment.

He also dismissed the claims of unconstitutionality by the applicants.

In his affidavit, Treasury then acting director-general Edgar Sishi said the regulations did not violate the constitutional right to social security.

“They facilitate greater access to social security,” Sishi argued, “and provide as much coverage and protection to the most vulnerable South Africans that the state can afford at the moment.”

He cautioned that any court order invalidating the regulations could have “disastrous economic consequences”. Any such order should be suspended to allow the department minister to address issues without causing budgetary strain. DM

First published by GroundUp.

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South Africa

Grant and income threshold

Government response

Appeal process