Sassa R350 Grant Recipients To Be Paid by June 2022

The Department of Social has recently set a deadline by which all Sassa R350 grant recipients will receive their outstanding grant payment. The Department also outlines other important processes that beneficiaries must follow in order to ensure that they receive their grant payment.

That’s the undertaking made by the Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu as the 2022/2023 budget was tabled in Parliament on Thursday afternoon last week.

According to the Minister, a total of R44 billion has been set aside to be allocated to the extension of the Social Relief Distress (SRD) grant, intended to benefit more than 10 million people.

Furthermore, the Department’s budget is the third largest budget allocation for the current financial year.

Zulu also explained during an interview that it is crucial for qualifying R350 grant applicants to reapply, as failure to do so will possibly result in them not receiving their grant payment.

Our challenge is that if we don’t make people reapply, our system will not be able to determine whether people have gone back to work or not. But if they do reapply we are able to consult Home Affairs and all the necessary departments. We go to a sales event and check whether people are now paying taxes or not.

Zulu further reiterates that Sassa’s system for checking whether beneficiaries still meet the requirements for the SRD grant is in place hence it is compulsory for them to reapply.

Corruption among officials in the Department also formed part of the Minister’s address as parliamentary members criticised the department for not doing enough to root out corruption.

They stated that the Department has failed to provide an adequate social security system. Opposition officials also called for an increase in various other social grants as well as the introduction of the Basic Income Grant.