R350 SRD grant income threshold

Minister Lindiwe Zulu. Photo: GCIS and Yoann JEZEQUEL / Flickr

ICYMI: Proposal to increase R350 SRD grant income threshold to R624

Department of Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu has proposed that the income threshold for R350 SRD grant be increased to R624.

R350 SRD grant income threshold

Minister Lindiwe Zulu. Photo: GCIS and Yoann JEZEQUEL / Flickr

More people are set to qualify for the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant following a new proposal on the income threshold for applicants. 

In April, civil society organisations and unions raised their concerns after the income threshold was reduced from R595 to R350 in order to qualify for the SRD grant. 

MORE PEOPLE TO QUALIFY FOR R350 SRD GRANT

Under the National State of Disaster which facilitated the R350 SRD grant the income threshold for one to be eligible for the grant was R595 and was then reduced to R350 under the new regulations in April. 

On Thursday, 7 July, Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu formally proposed that the income threshold for one to qualify for the R350 SRD be increased to R624. The proposal is up for comment until 29 July 2022. 

R624 is the national food poverty line that was set by Statistics South Africa in September 2021. 

SASSA R350 grant income threshold
Photo: The South African

CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS HEADING TO COURT

In June, civil society organisations announced that they will be heading to court to try and overturn the tight criteria and means test which they say deprives millions of people in need of government assistance and regresses developments of the right to social assistance for hundreds of thousands who qualified for this assistance previously. 

In a joint statement, the organisations which include The Blacksash Trust and #PayTheGrants amongst others said on the immediate crisis with non-payment of the R350 SRD grant: Not a single beneficiary has received the April and May payments for this grant cycle in mid-June as promised.  Instead, only back-payments from August to November 2021 have been made due to successful appeals. 

The Black Sash Trust, represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), has approached the High Court in Pretoria on the matter.

Apart from that SASSA Grants Operations Executive Manager, Brenton Van Vrede recently revealed that of the 10.9 million applications received for the SRD grant, 5 million have been approved while the other 5 million has been declined. 

ALSO READ: Five million R350 SRD grant applications declined by SASSA