Read more
R350 Covid-19 grant: Here’s when to collect your money
The SA Post Office confirmed payment payout dates for the coming week.
More the 500 people mostly elderly and disabled wait in lines outside SASSA office in Bellville, South Africa. Photo: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach
Those who have been approved by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) for the R350 Covid-19 grant will be able to receive their money from the SA Post Office (Sapo) this week.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the reinstatement of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant back in July, to assist South Africans affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent incidents of unrest.
R350 Covid-19 grant (SRD grant)
When to collect your money
The decision to reinstate the monthly support grant comes after deadly civil unrest rocked parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July.
The R350 grant will continue to be paid out until the end of March 2022 and extended to eligible unemployed caregivers who currently receive a child support grant as well.
Payments can be collected from the South African Post Office from Monday.
No specific payment dates
In an earlier version of this article, we quoted Sapo as saying payments will be made according to the recipients’ ID numbers.
This after Sapo spokesperson Johan Kruger said the system – based on the last three digits of an ID number – was introduced to prevent overcrowding at branches.
However, Sassa said this is incorrect: “[The] information is false and NOT from SASSA. Payments for the special Covid-19 SRD grant will be made from 23 August, however, beneficiaries cannot be given a specific date”.
NOW READ: Covid relief grant: Here’s how to apply
R350 SRD grant ‘stepping stone’
Social development minister Lindiwe Zulu said earlier this month the R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant “should ideally be a stepping stone to a basic income grant”.
She said the government’s Covid-19 relief measures carried households through hardship brought about by the pandemic, and data suggested most recipients use the Sassa grant to buy groceries.
“The rapid assessment study that we conducted found that the around 88% of recipients of the Special Covid-19 SRD grant pooled the grant with their other household incomes to take care of the needs of everyone in the household”.
Additional reporting by Cheryl Kahla.
