R350 grant payment dates February

SASSA releases the R350 SRD grant payment dates for February. Image: Supplied

SASSA to help R350 grant recipients ‘gain access to employment’

SASSA intends to help R350 grant beneficiaries find work through a partnership with the Departments of Public Works and Labour.

R350 grant payment dates February

SASSA releases the R350 SRD grant payment dates for February. Image: Supplied

Hundreds of thousands of R350 grant recipients were left in the lurch when the Department of Social Development (DSD) narrowed the eligibility criteria for the much-needed assistance.

 After much outrage and backlash, Lindiwe Zulu’s department started the process of raising the income ceiling for the grant. She recently revealed that the SA Social Security Agency is working on a plan that would help beneficiaries find employment.

SASSA ESTABLISHING DATA-SHARING RELATIONSHIP

For the 2022 – 2023 financial year, SASSA was handed a budget of R44 billion – enough to pay the R350 grant to approximately 10.5 million people. The Agency lowered the income threshold for eligibility from R595 to R350 to stay within this budget.

 On Friday, 5 August, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP, Laetitia Arries, asked the DSD Minister what her department will do to accommodate “the more than 500 000 people” excluded from the grant due to budget constraints.

Zulu said the budget allocation for the current financial year is “slightly less” than the previous iteration of the grant and added that Treasury has made additional budget available to various departments to “create much-needed job opportunities.”

The Minister segued into revealing that SASSA is in the process of establishing a data-sharing relationship with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and Employment and the Department of Employment and Labour. The end goal of this relationship is to help R350 grant beneficiaries gain access to employment opportunities.

“Furthermore, the Department has finalised a framework on linking social protection beneficiaries to sustainable livelihoods initiatives, with the view to provide skills targeting the unemployed and those on the SRD database to enhance chances of employment,” said Zulu.

These measures and sustainable livelihood initiatives are meant to provide opportunities for people who cannot be helped via the social grants system, according to the Minister.

As previously reported, civil society groups have welcomed the DSD’s proposal to increase the income threshold for the grant.

READ MORE: R350 grant: 60% of applicants are youth, 5% have tertiary education

ALSO READ: