The Finance Minister recently announced that some changes will be made to the SRD grant. Here’s everything you need to know.
Recently, a major announcement was made by the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, as he announced that the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant will be increased. This SRD grant increase will come into effect on 1 April.
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) makes R350 grant payments to approximately 9 million beneficiaries every month.
During the 2024 budget speech, Godongwana revealed that work was underway to improve the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant by April 2024. The Minister indicated that these improvements will be within the current fiscal framework.
How Much will the SRD grant payment be Now?
The SRD grant increase announced was from R350 per month to R370 per month, a 5.7% Sassa increase. Gondongwana described the increase as “the realisation of the basic rights of our people”.
SRD grant payments are made during the final week of the month after Sassa completed various verification checks. These verification checks seek to ensure only deserving individuals receive SRD grant payments.
See Also: SRD Grant Beneficiaries Encouraged To Use This Payment Method
Sassa conducts verification checks in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs for identity and citizenship checks and shares bank details with the Department of Treasury for income verification.
Sassa has made it clear that funds will take about 2 to 3 working days to reflect in the grantholder’s bank account after the Sassa SRD payment has been processed.
The SRD grant received a budgetary allocation of R33.6 billion for the 2024 financial year. Provisional allocations were also made for the 2025 financial year and the 2026 financial year.
This means that should the government see fit, the implementation of the grant would be extended until March 2027.
See Also: SASSA Learnerships Application Details