It’s important for social grant beneficiaries to know when the South African Social Security Agency will be paying out their monies. Hence, the government agency has released a payment schedule for various grants.
Monthly, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) pays out various social grants to millions of individuals.
Sassa already has a payment schedule that it follows to make sure that social grants are paid on time to the correct person.
However, in a statement, the government agency has clarified:
There is no fixed payment date for the special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant.Â
While many people have been approved for their grant payment, Sassa has reminded SRD grant beneficiaries who have received payment dates from them to collect their monies when they receive an SMS.
According to the Sassa, this SMS will contain a voucher number from their chosen bank. In the case of clients who haven’t yet received their payment dates, they have been reminded that the absence of dates means that the payment has not been processed but grant payments will be processed in due time.
President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed that over 7 million people are currently benefiting from the SRD grant.
The grant has undergone through a number of changes since its introduction, and some of these include qualifying criteria, improved systems and also it being extended a few times.
However, Ramaphosa has assured the current SRD grant recipients that they will continue to receive the government’s financial support until March 2024.
Some lobby groups are of the opinion that this financial support is much more needed as the aftermath of the pandemic is still lingering. They have also called on the government to find ways to make the grant permanent.
How is the financial support of the SRD grant benefitting recipients?
Some people have argued that the wide range of social grants is turning South Africa into a welfare state.
New research from the University of Cape Town has revealed that this grant may have actually increased the chances of finding work for grant recipients.
One of the co-authors and UCT researcher, Tim Kohler said they have found that the SRD grant improved the labour market outcomes of recipients by 3% and these improvements were identified during the lockdown period.
There has been a decline in the number of beneficiaries receiving grants and 10% of the SRD grant beneficiaries have migrated into employment, indicated Social Development Director General Linton Mchunu.
