R350 Relief Grant Recipients Risk Being Disqualified if They Get Help From Their Families

• The R350 social relief distress grant has been rolled out and will pay an estimated 10.5 million people each month until March
• However, in order to make sure only those who are completely without support receive the money a "means test" has been introduced
• If a person is receiving financial support from a relative, it could disqualify them from receiving their R350 grant

JOHANNESBURG - South African residents who receive the R350 social relief grant (SRD) could be excluded from the next round of funding if they get financial support from a family member.

The department revealed on Friday that they were forced to a "means test" to make sure the R44 million budget would help those hardest hit.

The budget will allow 10.5 million people to receive R350 a month until March 2023. The SRD was introduced during the Covid19 lockdowns in 2020 to help those who lost their jobs as the economy shut down.

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Around 13.4 million South Africans have no income and 18.3 million live below the poverty line according to the department of social development's data according to News24.

Millions of people had to reapply for the grant when new legislation was introduced. According to The South African, a new grant system will soon be implemented in the hopes of cutting down on waiting times.

The number of people receiving social grants has increased from 31% to 47% and the department is introducing a new system to cope with this large increase.

Social grants: Minister Lindiwe Zulu promises recipients will receive their R350

Earlier, Briefly News reported that Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has said that those people who successfully applied for the R350 social relief grant will be paid their R350 in June.

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Zulu stated that her department has allocated almost all of its R257 million budget towards the social relief grants, totalling R44 million.

10 Million people qualified for the social relief grant, this is on top of the already 18 million people who currently receive a grant from the government according to SABC News.

EWN reported that beneficiaries were told to reapply after the requirements for the grant were altered in an attempt to prevent the system from being abused.

Source: Briefly News