To date, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has made four million R350 grant payments to beneficiaries for the month of July. According to the agency, thousands more still need to receive their payments.
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) released a statement that revealed that progress was made with regard to the Special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. The grant was introduced to reduce poverty and support the most vulnerable individuals as they tried to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
As of 19 July, approximately 5 298 817 applicants were approved for the SRD grant. According to the agency, 4 088 873 of those applicants received their grant payment, which means that 1 209 944 still need to receive their payments.
The SRD grant has provided many working-age citizens with financial support while they do not have any other form of income. Sassa aims to continue fighting against the plague of unemployment as the high unemployment rate among youth is of great concern to the agency.
Statistics revealed that about 60% of SRD grant applicants consist of youth, which is not shocking as the data correlates to the unemployment rate among youth which is at 63%. The data also showed that about 5% of all applicants have tertiary qualifications.
Applicants are reminded that applications for the Special Covid-19 SRD grant take place online, not at the agency offices. Enquiries regarding the SRD grant may be directed to the toll-free customer care line on 0800 60 10 11 or via email to [email protected].
