The South African constitution guarantees the right to social assistance for those who are unable to support themselves and their dependants. Millions of people in South Africa are in this position through no fault of their own but because of an unequal and exclusionary economy which is not creating enough jobs. We have faith that this constitutional right will prevail and be upheld

Our organisations are launching litigation against the government over the unfair regulations that govern the social distress relief (SRD)grant. We are challenging the arbitrary means test, of R350, which deprives millions of people in need of government assistance, and rolls back the right to social assistance for hundreds of thousands who qualified for this assistance previously. Further, our litigation aims to challenge the government for not meeting its commitment to pay outstanding SRD grants from April and May in June as indicated. This has been devastating for millions. 

Despite promises to do so, the government is failing to commit to engaging with civil society to develop a policy for the vital introduction of a sustainable universal Basic Income Grant (BIG) from March 2023, a policy which would benefit the economy and lift millions out of abject poverty.

Our organisations seek to make a meaningful contribution to ending the indignity of hunger in South Africa and reviving our economy, complemented by job creation. 

We will read a brief statement about the current situation and then invite questions from the media.

While we know that R350 a month is inadequate to survive with the rising cost of living, beneficiaries of this grant have used it to pool resources to stop people dying from hunger. Government’s failure to pay the grants has taken away a means of getting food on the table for the poorest of the poor.

A quarter of those living in South Africa live below the Food Poverty Line, and more than 55% of South Africans live below the Upper Bound Poverty Line of R1,335 per month. It is not a once off crisis. Given the current levels of unemployment, how are people expected to eat when there are no jobs and government doesn’t pay the R350 lifeline for two months? People who are unemployed are supposed to receive this amount consistently in terms of its undertaking and constitutional obligation.

The South African constitution guarantees the right to social assistance for those who are unable to support themselves and their dependants. Millions of people in South Africa are in this position through no fault of their own but because of an unequal and exclusionary economy which is not creating enough jobs. We have faith that this constitutional right will prevail and be upheld. 

We have attempted to engage with the government on this issue over a number of months. We submitted detailed responses to the draft legislative framework for the SRD grant, pointing out key issues of unfairness. This feedback was ignored, and the final regulations introduced even more punitive restrictions on social assistance. There was no consultation with civil society. 

Beneficiaries did not receive the grant in April and May 2022 for this cycle of the grant but rather as a result of reconsiderations from August to November 2021.The Department of Social Development (DSD) expects people to wait for months to receive their grants.

But hunger does not wait. The need to keep warm does not wait, and the poor cannot continue to be ignored, without building great anger in the hearts of millions of women and men across all provinces of our country.

If government won’t listen to our people, then we have to hope that they listen to the courts.

Last week we were disappointed to learn that those who have been waiting for SRD grant payments since April, will be forced to wait a further two months for the meagre amounts due to them.  Although the government has now begun paying SRD grants which were outstanding from August to November 2021, they have not met the clear commitments made by both the President and Minister Zulu, to pay the April and May SRD grants in mid-June. We have now learnt that the April grants will be paid in July, and the May grants will be paid in August. This is yet another devastating blow to approximately 11 million people who rely on this grant to buy the most basic of necessities to assist with their sheer survival. 

This delay, which has caused widespread suffering and hunger, is the result of the decision by the government to limit the budget allocation for the SRD grant, to make it available to fewer beneficiaries than the government’s own numbers show are in need of social assistance. This decision is rooted in the strategy of austerity and choking of social spending that has been imposed on the country, at a time when we desperately need investment in our people in order to build a more sustainable, inclusive economy. 

That pronouncement in turn made it necessary for invasive and punitive systems to be put in place to police grant applicants’ eligibility. To stick within its inadequate budget allocation, the government has decided that people can only receive the SRD grant if their income is below R350 per month, any income above that excludes beneficiaries from social assistance. To put that in perspective, the food poverty line in South Africa is R624 per month—that’s how much money you need to not be starving. According to the government, 18.3 million people live below this line. There can be no justification, then, for the fact that only 10.5 million people will receive the SRD grant.

Despite imposing this punitive and unfair system, the government does not have processes in place to ensure smooth running. For example, banks would have to allow bank checks, that authorization was not obtained.

Our litigation will challenge the arbitrary means test, of R350, which deprives millions of people in need of government assistance, and rolls back rights for hundreds of thousands who qualified for this assistance previously. We are also challenging the exclusionary systems which prevent many from accessing the grant, including the fact that applications can only be made online, the fact that the government privileges bank verification information above other forms of information provided by applicants, as well as the fact that the government prohibits any new information and evidence being provided when people appeal rejections for SRD grants. 

The constitution also holds the government accountable for the progressive realisation of this right to social assistance. That means that the government must continue to take steps to better meet people’s needs over time. We hold that there is one, evidence-based and effective way to do this, and that is a basic income guarantee for all in South Africa aged between 18-59. The basic income guarantee must be introduced immediately following the expiry of the SRD grant in March 2023, and it must be at the level of the food poverty line, rising over time to reach at least the upper bound poverty line, and to effectively eliminate poverty in South Africa. 

This is not a pipe dream but a legitimate development investment which extensive international evidence shows has enormous potential to stimulate our economy and contribute to inclusive growth, while upholding the dignity of our people. The evidence for the effectiveness of this policy is extremely well established, and modelling from respected economists in South Africa shows that it is feasible and achievable. As such, it is a fundamental obligation on the government, and our organisations will continue to mobilise our networks all over the country to realise this progressive milestone for humanitarian development in South Africa. 

Beneficiary/applicant testimonies

People are struggling, and now on top of putting food on the table, getting the R350 grant has become harder. Beneficiaries have shared with us their experiences of trying to get the R350 grant, and here’s is one example of how people are not poor enough to for the R350. Yolanda Shongwe said she started receiving child maintenance money three months ago which is above the threshold of R350 per month. She is worried that she will not be able to qualify for the grant since her bank account will be used to determine eligibility for the grant. Should she continue receiving money for maintenance for her child through her bank account, she will never qualify for the grant although she needs it as an unemployed caregiver.

While Yolanda does not seem to be ‘poor enough’, Cecilia Tshabalala, an applicant from Soweto, has been facing problems with the verification system. She had to change her surname after getting married, and because of that, she could not get verified on the SASSA system. Cecilia did not have enough money to go collect her R350, on top of that, SASSA wanted her to travel from Soweto to a SASSA office in the Free State where she is originally from, to get her surname verified. That would cost her more than R350 in one return trip. It is not just Cecilia who has to find money to apply for the R350. 

Maposhadi Mothwa, had tried applying for the grant for a while now and her status always returns as registered to UIF. She has tried numerous times to reapply/re-appeal her status. When she tried again in April, she couldn’t access the website and she has still not managed to reapply since then. The SASSA website has been a challenge for her. By making the process online, unless you have a phone that can access the internet, you can’t apply.

The new R350 grant regulations not only exclude many people, but have caused more distress and confusion for many. One applicant stated: “I receive +-R390 every month from a brother to pay my own funeral policy, and in that, I am left with R60. Now should I ask my brother to stop sending me each month for a funeral policy premium and pay it himself while he is doing me a huge favour? Has SASSAforgotten that monies coming into our accounts have to cover those important things?”

On top of all these problems, Treasury’s cruel underfunding of the R350 grant has contributed to these regulations which are designed to make life even harder for those struggling to put food on the table. The launch of litigation is our last resort to continue holding SASSA, DSD and the Presidency accountable for continuously failing to implement a R350 grant system that should make it easy for beneficiaries to access.

FOR FURTHER COMMENTS AND MEDIA INQUIRIES 

Black Sash: [email protected]

Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS): 

Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ):

Amandla.mobi: 

#PayTheGrants:

South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU):

Alternative Information & Development Centre (AIDC):