More South Africans Qualify for SRD Grant After Means Test Increased From R350 to R624

• More South Africans now qualify for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant after the means threshold has been increased
• Minister Lindiwe Zulu increased the means test to R624 in line with the 2021 food poverty line
• The SRD grant was introduced in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic to assist struggling South Africans to cope with the economic consequences of lockdown

JOHANNESBURG - More South Africans can now receive the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant after the means test threshold to determine who qualifies has been elevated from R350 to R624.

Lindiwe Zulu, the Minister of Social Development, gazetted the new regulation on Tuesday, 16 August, to increase the income threshold to R624 in accordance with the food poverty line set in September 2021 by Stats SA.

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Any South African with a monthly income below R624 can apply to receive the R350 grant from the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).

The increase comes after there was elevated concern over the income threshold being reduced from R595 to R350. The reduction was made when the national state of disaster was lifted, and the SRD was moved to the Social Assistance Act.

SABC News reported that Black Sash, the human rights advocacy group, has welcomed the increase of the means threshold. Jerome Bele says the organisation appreciates the changes to the regulations because they will greatly impact the lives of the people who need the grant.

According to TimesLIVE, all applicants will undergo a means test to determine eligibility.

Deputy director-general for the Department of Social Development, Brenda Sibeko, said:

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“A proxy means test consists of checks against databases that may indicate income or alternative financial assistance and verification of insufficient means with banks.”

Sibeko added that if the information from bank verification doesn’t coincide with information from data checks, then the result from the bank will be used to decide.

Applicants do not need to reapply with each passing month, but the checks will be made monthly to determine eligibility.

South Africans react to the increase in the means threshold

Some South Africans believe the government is increasing dependency by allowing more people to receive the grant.

Here are some comments:

Phindile Mabala said:

“We want to see more ppl being employed than depending on the government. We can't be proud of this.”

Thabang Mpande pointed out:

“I see people criticising this effort; try sleeping hungry. This money means a lot to most, and rightfully so.”

Moruti D Phirisi said:

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“2024 is tough. By next year people, will be getting over R1 000 just to secure more votes.”

Chilly Bite Jenje posted:

“How can a person depend on R350 while you are earning more than R200 000 a month? Do you think voters are stupid that 2024 is coming? We will see who is stupid...”

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

Briefly News previously 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.

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

Ten 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.

Source: Briefly News