Lindiwe Zulu Reveals R34m Paid to Refugees and R63m to Asylum Seekers Through SRD, Mzansi Is Furious

• South Africans were left fuming when it was revealed that Sassa paid millions to refugees and asylum seekers through the SRD grant
• Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu admitted this in a written response to a parliamentary question from EFF MP Laetitia Heloise Arries
• The payments from Sassa totalled R63m to asylum seekers and R34m to refugees

PRETORIA - Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu revealed that the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) paid R34m to refugees and R63m to asylum seekers sparking fury among many South African citizens.

Sassa reportedly pained R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grants to 4 102 refugees and 15 258 asylum seekers when the grant was first introduced in 2020.

One citizen Thiloshni Naidoo complained:

"The unemployed South Africans are still waiting to get paid!!! Now ppl know y the innocent ones got declined n robbed of this money."

Read also

Chris Hani: Masses take streets to protest against the release of Janusz Waluś, SA reacts

This is what other South Africans had to say:

Khayalethu Jimlongo commented:

"The ANC is utterly useless. These are the pull factors that make our borders porous."

Phogole'a Ngwato Soana claimed:

"The ANC government is the joke of the world."

Tshidi Mashishi added:

"That is why we can't manage our own house, we are busy in foreign houses."

Matshidiso Assegaai asked:

"Mara why? Please make me understand why SA taxpayers should fund this."

Lahli Wa Msisi suggested:

"This should be recovered from their parent countries."

Alfred Akanyang remarked:

"We're rich. South Africa is rich."

Nicholas Sandile Sandile stated:

"But government employers failed public servants by not agreeing on 10% wage agreement."

Bheki Nkosi

"But I'm an SA citizen and it is still pending to date."

Though many South Africans believe that foreigners should not be given grants, the SRD is earmarked for citizens, refugees, asylum seekers and special permit holders, TimesLIVE reported.

Read also

Truck with exam papers hijacked while travelling from Limpopo to Gauteng

According to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, several grant hopefuls appealed to the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance for declined Sassa SRD grants; The tribunal received just over 3 million appeals.

2 “pensioners” who made millions while getting Sassa grants arrested for fronting, SA thinks Gogos were used

In a related story, Briefly News reported that two pensioners were arrested in separate cases of theft, fraud and perjury for collecting South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) grants while companies in their name racked in millions from tenders.

South Africans believe the two women are just the tip of the iceberg and that someone else is pulling the strings. Some have even speculated that pensioners aren't the real owner of the registered companies.

One of the pensioners, Salmina Khoza, was listed as the sole director of three companies and bagged tenders from the police service worth over R60 million, TimesLIVE reported.

Source: Briefly News