HAMMANSKRAAL, SOUTH AFRICA – JULY 06: People queue at South African Post Office at JubiIee Mall during adjusted lockdown level 4 on July 06, 2021 in Hammanskraal, South Africa. It is reported that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) will remain open during adjusted level 4 and will operate with a reduced staff complement as per the Department of Public Service and Administration circular. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
SASSA addresses R700 grant rumours again
SASSA took to its social media pages on Monday, 7 March to once again dismiss a pesky fake advertisement.
HAMMANSKRAAL, SOUTH AFRICA – JULY 06: People queue at South African Post Office at JubiIee Mall during adjusted lockdown level 4 on July 06, 2021 in Hammanskraal, South Africa. It is reported that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) will remain open during adjusted level 4 and will operate with a reduced staff complement as per the Department of Public Service and Administration circular. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) took to its social media pages to rubbish a fake advertisement that is doing the rounds again. The fake advert says the agency will double the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant, which is currently worth R350.
READ: SASSA FAQs: Here is everything you need to know about grants
SASSA DISMISSES R700 GRANT FAKE NEWS
Since the grant was first launched by the government, SASSA has had to dismiss several fake posts.
Opportunistic scammers seemingly hijacked the sincere call for the grant to be increased from unions and interest groups.
READ: Still claiming the R350 grant? Five things you need to know about the extension
The R700 SASSA grant fake adverts proliferated ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February where he was expected to extend the grant and groups were putting pressure on him to increase the value of the social assistance.
SASSA dismissed the rumours on 7 February and said there were no additional grants in the works.
In the SONA address, Ramaphosa extended the R350 grant by a further year to March 2023. He kept the value the same but said the government is considering and working towards implementing some sort of permanent assistance – the basic income grant, which has been widely called for.
READ: SASSA R350 grant: Ramaphosa extends grant by a year to March 2023
Exactly a month since it dismissed the fake news, SASSA did so again.
“Please note that the below advert is FAKE and does not come from SASSA. No additional grant type is offered apart from the ones announced by SASSA,” said the Agency on 7 March.
The fake advert claims the Agency has approved the “R700 grant” and says all citizens can apply for the said grant. “In 2022 over 575 000 citizens will receive R700 payment, This is part of SASSA 2022 budget to support all South Africa Citizen,” reads the advert.
The advert encourages citizens to apply via a dodgy link that does not go to the official SRD grant page.
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