Advocacy groups call for in-person applications for R370 SRD grant
The Institute for Economic Justice called on the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to allow in-person applications for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.
Government introduced the grant as an emergency relief measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has since been increased from R350 to R370.
The Supreme Court of Appeal is expected to hear an appeal on 25 August by the National Treasury, the Department of Social Development, and SASSA against a Pretoria High Court ruling that found several regulations governing the grant unconstitutional and invalid.
The High Court found that the online-only application system was unlawful and ordered the government to make provision for in-person applications.
The ruling also challenged the way the government treats money deposited into applicants’ bank accounts when assessing their eligibility, including once-off financial assistance from family members.
Civil society organisations have said that the current online-only smartphone application system excludes millions of people who lack access to data, network coverage or digital literacy.
More than 16 million people are estimated to meet the qualifying criteria for the SRD grant, with incomes below the means-test threshold of R624.
However, the National Treasury has budgeted for only 8.5 million people per month to receive the grant.
The National Treasury has warned that expanding access to the grant could place significant pressure on the fiscus.
Speaking during a webinar on Thursday, IEJ senior researcher Kelly Howson said the government had introduced barriers to access in an effort to keep grant payments within the budget.
“This has forced DSD and SASSA to erect barriers to access, to artificially keep grant disbursements within the budget cap,” she said.
She identified online-only applications and the bank verification system as two of the key barriers.
Howson said about 14% of people in South Africa do not have access to the internet, adding that these people were likely to include some of the country’s poorest residents.
She also criticised the bank verification system, under which applicants’ bank accounts are checked each month.
According to Howson, money deposited into an applicant’s account can be treated as income and could result in them being disqualified, even when the money is received on behalf of someone else, such as a dependent child, or comes from a once-off donation, funeral policy payout or payday loan.
