SASSA has assured beneficiaries for the Special Relief of Distress grant that payments will continue for the R350 grant even though the grant has come to an end. The SRD grant reached its last day last week.
SASSA’s Special Relief of Distress grant, or what we’ve come to know as the R350 grant, came to an end on 30 April. Much to beneficiaries’ relief, the agency has said that payments will still continue.
If you applied before 30 April but you’re waiting for feedback, if you’re approved or have already been, you will then still receive payments backdated from the month you applied.
… all applications which have been approved and who have not yet received the money will still be paid.
Payments will however only be made for the month of April or earlier.
SASSA’s decision to terminate the grant while the country is still under lockdown, be that Level 5 lockdown, is being criticised.
SASSA spokesperson, Paseka Letsatsi, said:
The instruction which the South African Security System Agency has at the moment is that we must administer this social grant, which was extended until the end of April. Until the time that we get an instruction, we are however constrained and we need to make sure that we implement the instruction as it is hence the grant came to an end on 30 April 2021.
No new applications will be accepted for the R350 grant. Letsatsi emphasised that those who applied and were approved will get what is due to them.
SASSA has also experienced delays with February and March payments but has assured beneficiaries that they will receive their grant money.
Letsatsi said, “We have reduced the backlog drastically. Our payment success is about 95%. There will be those people with minor problems… We have just realised that there are about 400 000 people who have not collected their grants for one reason and the other”.
He then went on to encourage beneficiaries to check their SMSs and collect their grants.
Millions of people have benefitted from SASSA’s SRD grant and the grant has cost the Government R30 billion.
