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SA must scrap the threshold for R350 SRD grant to fix a broken system

Israel Nkuna
By Israel Nkuna
15 Sep 2022
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Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has admitted that less than 50% of those who applied for the Social Relief of Distress grant in June 2022 received the money. It’s clear that the system is broken.

One month ago, the Department of Social Development corrected the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant qualification threshold to its previous levels (see Black Sash statement here). For those unemployed people with less than R624 in the bank, they should qualify once more for the R350 SRD grant – but Sassa is still not paying.

In my village in Limpopo, I see applicants being denied the grant because Sassa’s system claims to have picked up a source of income. I have seen this happen to people I know well enough to know they are not receiving a cent in income.

There are people in my village who work hard at caring for families, who grow what food they can for subsistence and who help others with building and other tasks – yet they have not had a paying job since the day they were born. I have helped some of these people apply for the SRD grant, and I have seen Sassa’s system reject them because it claims to pick up a source of income.

Minister Lindiwe Zulu has admitted that less than 50% of the people who applied for the SRD grant in June received the money. It is clear to me that the system is broken. It has been broken from the start, and nothing has been done in all this time to fix it.

The way to fix it is simple – get rid of the threshold. It spits out faults that result in unnecessary human suffering.

More than that, it’s the wrong approach. 



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The people I’m talking about in my village of Mahlathi in Limpopo – whose whole life is a struggle for survival – work day and night but don’t get paid. They don’t deserve to be treated like this. They work just as hard as any employed person – without earning a cent. 

If there were jobs available, they would take them.

It’s up to our government to try to grow the economy and make sure everybody has the means to survive. Every person – at the very least, every unemployed person – should be given this basic support.

I help thousands of people from all provinces to apply for SRD grants and appeal the rejections. Many have been calling me because neither their August nor their September payments have come through, and they get no reply when they appeal bad decisions. 

Our government is failing those most in need.

It’s no wonder the people I talk to are withdrawing their support for the ANC. They see a government that creates national budgets for the rich, instead of for the majority. We need a Basic Income Grant to end poverty and stimulate the economy in rural areas; to reduce crime and raise hope again. DM/MC

For previous articles by Nkuna, read The state of disaster is not over for us, Mr President and Mr President: ‘Make a BIG a flagship project and give us hope again 

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