WeeklySA_AdminPOLICY:Experts believe pandemic could see universal grant issue clarified by early next year
By Isaac Moledi
The re-instatement by President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Covid– 19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant and its extension to caregivers is said to take the country one step closer to a universal basic income guarantee which experts believe their specifics could be announced as early as next year during the Budget Speech.
Experts believe that the Covid- 19 pandemic and the reinstatement of the SRD grant, of which the applications were opened last Friday, could see the Finance Minister announcing the nitty-gritty of the universal grant as early as in next year’s Budget Speech as discussions on the issue are at the advanced stage.
During a media briefing following the announcement of the re-introduction of the SRD grant, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu also hinted on the introduction of the universal grant saying the SRD grant reinstatement was an ideal stepping stone to the universal basic guarantee grant.
“We are currently working on the policy aspects surrounding this (basic income), including the implementation and resource mobilization aspects related to this Grant, working with various stakeholders through a series of consultations and will provide updates on same accordingly,” Zulu said during the media briefing.
On the R350 monthly SDR reinstatement, of which payment to beneficiaries will commence towards the end of this month, she said her department has been allocated R26.7 billion for a period of eight months effective August 2021 to March 2022. This allocation budget includes the administrative costs borne by SASSA.
“When the President announced the re-introduction of the Special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant, I was not only very happy, but also very encouraged by the care and commitment that our President and indeed government had shown in cushioning the poorest and distressed in our country, especially given the continued hardship that our people are still experiencing as a result of the ongoing pandemic and the devastating effects it is continuing to have on our country and households,” she said.
Zulu said according to NIDS-CRAM research and findings, for the period between March and June 2020, COVID-19 relief measures were estimated to have reduced the number of households with incomes below the food poverty line from 20.6% to 18.8%, and a reduction in inequality from 0.644 to 0.613. She said that the research confirmed that the majority of recipients used the money to buy food.
Zulu said at the beginning of the R350 grant allocations, her department had received more than 10 million applications with just over 6 million being approved to the tune of about R24 billion. An additional R15 billion was paid as top-ups for a period of 6 months to all grant types, she added.
“We are also pleased that 100% of these applications were online or digital applications which actually quickened the entire process. We have taken note that the majority of the previous applications were paid to males between the ages of 18-35 and in order to address this gender imbalance, the grant has now been opened to include caregivers, the majority of whom are women.”
From the fraud and corruption perspective, she said SASSA was in the process of recovering monies from those who benefitted wrongly and have referred some matters to law enforcement agencies for further action and possible arrests. “We have strengthened our controls in this regard and will deal differently with, for example, government officials who may apply for the grant through working with the DPSA,” she said.
Zulu outlined the criteria her department uses to be eligible for the R350 grant are as follow:
– You must be a South Africa citizen who is a permanent resident or refugee registered on the Home Affairs database or persons who are holders of special permits under the Special Angolan Dispensation, the Lesotho Exemption Permit dispensation and the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit Dispensation, and asylum seekers whose section 22 permits or visas are valid or were valid on 15 March 2020;
– All the above-mentioned individuals must unemployed and be above the age of 18 and below 60 and reside within the borders of South Africa;
– Recipients should not receive any social grant or unemployment insurance benefit;
– Should not receive any stipend from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and other financial aid, or receive any other government Covid-19 response support or a resident in a government funded or subsidized institution.
She said the new applications shall be considered from the month of application and paid up to March 31 next year provided the qualifying criteria continue to be met.
Zulu said there won’t be an automatic qualification as requirement will be confirmed through the monthly validation of every application. She stressed the importance of people to re-apply as a person’s circumstance or personal details may have change over time.
She said it is also important for recipients to submit banking details upfront so that payment can be processed quickly and for recipients to avoid long queues at the post offices Like previously, all applications must be done electronically or digitally using any of the following: website at http://srd.sassa.gov.za; WhatsApp line on 082 046 8553 or the USSD line *134*7737#.
Money shall be paid through individual bank accounts and those without bank accounts shall receive their grants through Post bank or a Bank Mobile Money Transfers (cash send).
According to Zulu, a total of 571, 724 grants which have been approved during the previous grant in 2020 remain uncollected from the Post Office and she urged recipients who applied previously but did not collect their grants to do so or contact Sassa as they will have until the end of this month to claim.
After this date, no enquiries relating to the previous grants will be considered, said Zulu.
