New Rules for the SASSA SRD Grant
The South African Government has announced the addition of new regulations to the SRD (R370) Grant. These additions were set in place to aid SASSA in recovering unlawful grant payouts. The SRD Grant (which now pays recipients R370) was formerly known as the R350 Grant.
Recovering SRD Payments made in error
This announcement was made by Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu, who stated that the additions will allow the South African government to recover any irregular payments made to individuals who received grant payments unlawfully.
These gazetted changes will commence on 1 April 2024, allowing for new recovery processes and a way to better handle irregular payments. These changes will allow the government to implement a “recovery and uncollected benefits” section that will allow them to recover all money that was paid to individuals who are not entitled to benefit from the grant.
Zulu stated, “The agency (South African Social Security Agency – Sassa) may recover all monies paid to any person in the event that such a person was not entitled to benefit from the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress”.
Recipients to keep their contact details updated
The department also stated that sub-regulation 2 of the new rules will require individuals who are not beneficiaries of the grant to ensure that their details are up-to-date. Individuals who haven’t updated their details with SASSA (this includes their payment details and phone number) may find their application for the SRD grant being suspended. This is due to the individual not being traceable by SASSA as a result of the incorrect current details.
Read here how to update your contact details on your SRD Grant Application
Owing to the new rules of this sub-regulation, individuals who have not responded to communication from SARS regarding the update of their relevant details will have 90 days to respond. Thereafter, their application will be cancelled, with the grant payment money being forfeited to the State. To further prevent current recipients from getting their grant suspended, individuals are encouraged to ensure that their details are always kept up-to-date.
Recipients to keep their bank details updated
Zulu stated that it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that their current details are communicated to SASSA, as the agency is not liable should communications be sent to the incorrect number. The individual must also ensure that SASSA has their correct banking details to enable bank verification and to process payments.
In March 2024, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana stated that the SRD Grant would increase to a payout of R370 from April 2024. After this announcement, the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) noted that although the increase seems minor, it will have a sizable impact on the South African fiscus.
Lisetre IJssel de Schepper, Chief Economist of the BER stated that, “The rise will cost the fiscus about R2.2 billion extra in 2024/25 than anticipated in February. ” de Schepper added that this would be the first increase since the launch of the grant in 2020, and will not cover the full loss of purchasing power from inflation. They further stated that the timing of the announcement for the increase of the grant can be conceivably linked to the upcoming 2024 election.