Over 1-million SRD applicants to be paid by weekend
Sassa says the delays were due to verification and reconsideration processes
20 June 2022 - 11:12
byUnathi Nkanjeni
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Successful applicants who requested that their rejected Covid-19 R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant applications be reconsidered can expect payment by the end of the week, according to the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa).
After months of delays and a backlash for missing payments, Sassa announced the wait was over and millions of approved applicants would be paid their grants.
In a statement, the agency said the delays were due to verification and reconsideration processes.
“Sassa has been dealing with the reconsideration of Covid-19 SRD grant applications for a while, which caused a lot of dissatisfaction.
“After months of dealing with appeals, verification and reconsideration processes, about 750,000 applicants have been paid and we expect payments to increase to more than one million by the end of the week.”
How will payments work?
Sassa said payments made in the week were specifically for reconsideration appeals for the period August 2021 to November 2021.
“We appeal to clients to provide Sassa with their bank account details to enable us to pay into their own accounts. Notifications to update details have been sent to clients whose reconsideration appeals have been approved, but their bank account details were outstanding.”
How much is the budget for the grant?
Under the Social Assistance Act, R44bn has been set aside to pay qualifying beneficiaries.
To achieve this, Sassa said it implemented a means test not only for appeals but for all applicants.
“This requires Sassa to implement a similar process of checking incomes in people’s bank accounts. This was previously only done for those who appealed. We have now implemented this for all Covid-19 SRD grant applications.
“This required an extensive procurement and systems development process, including partnering with some of the main banks. Due to the challenges with setting up this system, we had a backlog, not only with the reconsideration appeals, but also with assessments for new applications from April 2022,” said Sassa.
Where can I collect my grant?
Beneficiaries are advised not to go to post offices to access their funds.
Those who selected to receive their funds at SA Post Office branches are requested to visit www.srd.sassa.gov.za and select an option to collect the grants from Checkers, Usave, Shoprite, Pick n Pay and Boxer stores.
“Clients must have their ID and cellphone they registered when applying for the grant because the OTP number will be sent to that registered number,” said the agency.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Over 1-million SRD applicants to be paid by weekend
Sassa says the delays were due to verification and reconsideration processes
Successful applicants who requested that their rejected Covid-19 R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant applications be reconsidered can expect payment by the end of the week, according to the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa).
After months of delays and a backlash for missing payments, Sassa announced the wait was over and millions of approved applicants would be paid their grants.
In a statement, the agency said the delays were due to verification and reconsideration processes.
“Sassa has been dealing with the reconsideration of Covid-19 SRD grant applications for a while, which caused a lot of dissatisfaction.
“After months of dealing with appeals, verification and reconsideration processes, about 750,000 applicants have been paid and we expect payments to increase to more than one million by the end of the week.”
How will payments work?
Sassa said payments made in the week were specifically for reconsideration appeals for the period August 2021 to November 2021.
“We appeal to clients to provide Sassa with their bank account details to enable us to pay into their own accounts. Notifications to update details have been sent to clients whose reconsideration appeals have been approved, but their bank account details were outstanding.”
How much is the budget for the grant?
Under the Social Assistance Act, R44bn has been set aside to pay qualifying beneficiaries.
To achieve this, Sassa said it implemented a means test not only for appeals but for all applicants.
“This requires Sassa to implement a similar process of checking incomes in people’s bank accounts. This was previously only done for those who appealed. We have now implemented this for all Covid-19 SRD grant applications.
“This required an extensive procurement and systems development process, including partnering with some of the main banks. Due to the challenges with setting up this system, we had a backlog, not only with the reconsideration appeals, but also with assessments for new applications from April 2022,” said Sassa.
Where can I collect my grant?
Beneficiaries are advised not to go to post offices to access their funds.
Those who selected to receive their funds at SA Post Office branches are requested to visit www.srd.sassa.gov.za and select an option to collect the grants from Checkers, Usave, Shoprite, Pick n Pay and Boxer stores.
“Clients must have their ID and cellphone they registered when applying for the grant because the OTP number will be sent to that registered number,” said the agency.
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