Applications for R350 outweigh recipients – Zulu
‘Increase in the number of eligible applicants’
Social development minister Lindiwe Zulu has asked the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) to investigate the significant decrease in the number of people receiving the R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant.
Answering questions in parliament on this week, Zulu said: “With the new regulations and alterations, the numbers went down and I have asked Sassa to do an analysis on the decrease month-to-month and year-to- year [of the] number of applications and what the variables are.”
Zulu was responding to Good MP Brett Herron, who asked her about statements she made in October that changes envisaged to the regulations governing the payment of the R350 SRD grant would allow more people to qualify.
Zulu said: “We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of eligible applicants since the implementation of the amended regulations.
“Before the amended regulations came to effect, the number of approved applications were: in April we had 8.1-million and approved 4.7-million.
“In May there were 7.6-million applications and we approved 5-million, in June 11.3-million applied and we approved 6.8million,” she said.
When the grant was first rolled out, there were an estimated 10-million beneficiaries.
Zulu said she was unhappy with the large number of applicants compared with the number of recipients.
“The number of people that were able to go back to work is still very low, and so once the [Sassa] report [is available it] will enable us to make a proper analysis.”
She said that budget constraints also played a role. “It’s also about the budget that we get from the National Treasury.”
Zulu said the number of applications was still as high as it was in 2020 and the application system was still effective.
“The issue is the means test and the regulations we needed. That is why we had to change the threshold, which was making it difficult for us.”
Herron said the declining number of applications was worrying but welcomed finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s recent announcement to extend the SRD to March 2024.
He said the government had a legal duty to assist those who did not have access to a basic income.
“Once we have given support to that large proportion of society, we cannot simply withdraw it because social security is a right, it’s not a gift.
“We believe that it’s common sense and a legal imperative that we implement a basic income grant which will meet the lower bound poverty line of approximately R890 per person per month.