R350 SRD Grant Subject to Stricter Regulations, Beneficiaries Cannot Arbitrarily Reject Employment

• The Department of Social Development announced that more people qualify for the R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant last week.
• New regulations may make the grant harder to qualify for as Sasss has decided to make the criteria more strict
• Sassa will look at potential beneficiaries’ educational and employment prospects to determine whether they are in need of the grant

CAPE TOWN - More people qualify to receive the Social Relief of Distress grant, but new regulations will make the criteria more strict.

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the Department of Social Development outlined the stricter criteria when they briefed the National Council of Provinces on the new framework on Tuesday, 23 August.

Among other things, the new criteria will consider recipients’ educational background in the hopes of addressing issues like state officials and employed people irregularly being awarded the R350 SRD grant, EWN reported.

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The new regulations also stipulate that beneficiaries of the SRD grant cannot unreasonably reject employment and educational opportunities. Beneficiaries will also have to confirm that they are still in need of the SRD grant every three months.

Failure to do so will result in Sassa defaulting the beneficiary to not needing the grant, News24 reported.

Brenton van Vrede, the Department of Social Development’s chief director, said the three-month check-up has been set in place to enable Sassa to identify changes in the beneficiary’s status which can be missed through data checks.

The regulation for the SRD had to be changed following president Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that the grant will extend till March 2023, meaning the grant would move from the Disaster Management Act to the Social Assistance Act

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South Africans weigh in on the stricter regulations

Some South Africans think the new regulations are a good idea, while others think the fact that there aren’t many jobs to apply for is a flaw in Sassa’s approach.

@TladiNtate commented:

“That's a good clause. Then create real jobs and stop with your summits.”

@Uncertified404 added:

“What's next? They can't refuse to help Santa Clause deliver Christmas gifts to good kids? I mean since they are already expected not to refuse other things that don't exist.”

@SericNgcobo said:

“As if there is employment to offer them. A joke”

@patrick_mohlala

“The government must empower and develop entrepreneurs to create quality jobs for the unemployed. This people need jobs and don't want to rely on R350 grant. How are we going grow the economy? If the government doesn't have capacity they employ people who will”

@RIETFONTEIN22 pointed out:

“Good idea. In UK when applying 4 jobseekers allowance u have to physically go & sign at office. You have to prove u have applied for jobs (computer in centre prints out receipts of your applications). They provide courses of which attendance is obligatory. No go no money”

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Fact check: no, 60% of Sassa R350 SRD applicants are not young people with tertiary qualifications

Previously Briefly News reported that A panel discussion on eNCA called 'We the Nation' recently sparked a debate on social media. The show focused on youth unemployment in South Africa, and one of the claims made on the show was that 60% of the Social Relief of Distress grant applicants were young people with tertiary qualifications.

A photo of the show was posted on social media, with many people talking about how bad these statistics were. Some people also wanted to know which degrees these graduates held, as there was no breakdown of the statistics on the show.

Source: Briefly News