Many South Africans were jobless when the Covid-19 virus emerged in the country. The President responded by providing affected individuals with a grant. The Department of Social Development has set of criteria that determine who can benefit from it.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) allowed Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant beneficiaries to re-apply for the grant as new regulations were implemented as of April 2024.
The government agency had revealed that it had received high volumes of applications that reached a total of 11.4 million.
Sassa’s Executive Manager for Grants, Brenton Van Vrede said that the caregivers grant beneficiaries account for 4 million of these applications.
Caregivers are individuals who are receiving a social grant on behalf of someone else, such as a Child Social Grant.
These individuals do qualify for the SRD grant as long as they are unemployed, according to Sassa.
With many caregivers losing their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic, this lifts the burden off their shoulders as they can also take care of themselves through the monthly SRD grant payments.
This will make a huge difference in many households, considering that both the standard of living and the basic food basket has increased.
Additionally, they should not have any other form of income flowing into their bank accounts that is more than R350 per month.
According to the new regulation, the Social Assistance Act, this is a set criteria that applies to every applicant of the SRD grant.
In the 2024 State of The Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the extension of the SRD grant for a year from April 2024 to March 2024.
