Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, announced the SRD grant will be increased by R20, and will now pay R370 starting this month, in April 2024, going forward until March 2025, pending approvals to regulations.
“I am pleased to say that, subject to the finalization of the comprehensive social security plan, we will increase the R350 to R370 by 1 April this year,” he said.
So next month, beneficiaries would be expecting the SRD grant increase in their next payment schedule.
He said this while addressing the National Assembly on Wednesday (13 March 2024), and promised that the minister of Social Development would soon be publishing a “comprehensive social security programme” for public comment.
This is great news, for many unemployed individuals in South Africa and the idea is to continue supporting those with no means of income in the family.
There are funds currently allocated to SASSA until 2027. The SRD grant is allocated R33.6 billion in 2024/25 with provisional allocations of R35.2 billion and R36.8 billion for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years.
While other organizations are still pursuing the grant to be increased to over R700 the government is considering other factors such as the economic impacts before committing to anything at this stage.
In fact, Business Tech reported that the Universal Basic Income Coalition (Ubic) is calling on the Minister of Social Development to reject the R20 increase to the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, saying it’s an insult and should be increased by R90 at a minimum, in April 2024.
Also, the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) agreed that the R20 increase is somehow odd.
“This is the first increase since the introduction of the grant in 2020 and does not make up for the full loss of purchasing power amid rising inflation, but the timing of the announcement can conceivably be linked to the upcoming election,” the BER said.
Status Check
Beneficiaries are urged to frequently check their SRD Grant application statuses, to fix any issues, should your status change due to missing information.
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When Will The SRD Grant End?
At this stage, the government is looking for resources to keep the grant going, and to continue supporting the vulnerable and unemployed in South Africa.
It’s currently extended until March 2025 with no guarantee it’ll continue afterward.
There are many reports of scams happening around the SRD Grant, and until SASSA resolves this problem, they won’t have enough budget to continue supporting those in dire need.
Contact SRD Grant
To confirm the SRD Grant increase or if your application has been hacked or you need any information regarding your grant application, please contact SASSA directly using the following contact details:
- Call: 080060 10 11
- Email: [email protected]
- WhatsApp: 082 046 8553
- Twitter – @OfficialSASSA
- Facebook – SASSA News
