‘Don’t be tempted to steal the R350 grant’: Govt department warns workers

Come on now, do they REALLY have to be told? There’s an air of despair around the latest statement from Public Works, after they hastily reminded employees to ‘resist the temptation’ of fraudulently claiming the R350 grant.

Government workers asked not to take R350 grant money

Public officials can earn seven-figure annual salaries in government, and although the idea of them nicking R350 each week may seem comical, we’ve literally been here before…

• Approximately 40 000 public servants applied for the R350 relief grant in May last year.
• Shockingly, 241 of them were approved for the payments.
• Over one in 200 of these public servants – or 0.5% – managed to cheat the system.
• Public servants excluded from the R350 grant include those on the Persal system, interns, Expanded Public Works employees, learners, or anyone on developmental programs who receives a form of stipend from the government.

“Please don’t commit fraud” – DPSA

In a bid to avoid a repeat of these terrible scenes, DPSA Director-General Yoliswa Makhasi has pleaded with public sector workers to keep their hands out of a till that exclusively serves the poorest of the poor.

“The DPSA is concerned about public servants who see nothing wrong in applying for the R350 grant while they have a source of income. The SRD is intended to provide relief to the poor and financially distressed citizens in the country.”

“I want to reiterate that any official who receives any form of income from the public service, does not qualify for this grant and may not apply for it as it is tantamount to stealing from the poor. It amounts to fraud.” | Yoliswa Makhasi

DPSA calls on public servants not to be tempted to apply for the R350 special relief grant https://t.co/rd1cjPZsvc via @@thedpsa @Yoliswamakhasi @The_DSD @PresidencyZA @GCISMedia pic.twitter.com/qQPzlf8QzR

— National DPSA (@thedpsa) August 5, 2021

R350 grant warning lambasted by the DA

Political opponents have also scoffed at the statement, with Shadow Minister Leon Schrieber summarising the whole sorry situation with some textbook cynicism. Truly, such a warning is a sad indictment for SA.

“How deeply has the ANC corrupted our state? So deeply that the people who earn far more than private sector workers – and also enjoy sheltered employment – still find it tempting to steal R350 out of the mouths of the poor mid-pandemic.”