It will be a busy few days for South Africans next week with March’s SASSA grant payments available for collection as well as a petrol and diesel price hike.
What the government gives, it also takes way.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has confirmed the March payment schedule as follows:
- Older Person’s or Pensioners Grants: Tuesday, 5 March 2024
- Disability Grants: Wednesday, 6 March 2024
- Children’s and all other grants: Thursday, 7 March 2024
In some good upcoming news for grant recipients, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his Budget Speech last week confirmed that SASSA grants would be increased from April 2024 for the following 12 months.
Social grants have been upped to help keep pace with inflation:
- An increase of R100 to the old age, war veterans, disability and care dependency grants. This amount will be divided into R90 effective from April 2024 and R10 effective October 2024
- A R50 increase to the foster care grant
- A R20 increase to the child support grant
THE SRD GRANT WILL BE IMPROVED BY APRIL
“We are sensitive to the increase in the cost of living for the nearly 19 million South Africans who rely on these grants to make ends meet.
“In this regard, we have done as much as the fiscal envelope allows. Work is currently underway to improve the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant by April this year,” Godongwana added.
WHAT IS A SRD GRANT?
Social relief of distress is a temporary provision of assistance intended for persons in such dire material need that they are unable to meet their or their families’ most basic needs.
Social Relief of Distress (SRD) is paid to South African citizens or permanent residents, who have insufficient means and meet one or more of the following criteria:
- The applicant is awaiting payment of an approved social grant.
- The applicant has been found medically unfit to undertake remunerative work for a period of less than 6 months.
- The bread winner is deceased and application is made within three months of the date of death.
- No maintenance is received from parent, child or spouse obliged in law to pay maintenance, and proof is furnished that efforts made to obtain maintenance have been unsuccessful.
- The bread winner of that person`s family has been admitted to an institution funded by the state (prison, psychiatric hospital, state home for older persons, treatment centre for substance abuse or child and youth care centre).
- The applicant has been affected by a disaster as defines in the Disaster Management Act or the Fund Raising Act, 1978.
- The person is not receiving assistance from any other organization or.
- Refusal of the application for social relief of distress will cause undue hardships.
Period of Social Relief of Distress (New policy)
Social Relief of Distress is issued monthly for a maximum period of three months. An extension a further three months may be granted in exceptional cases.
Note: No person who is in receipt of social grant may receive the grant and social relief of distress simultaneously. Any person who receive both social relief and grant at the same time must repay the value of the social relief of distress received. This will be recovered from any social grant payment, including an arrear payment. However, where the person who is in receipt of a social grant received social relief of distress as a result of a disaster, that amount will not be recovered.
Meanwhile, as reported by The South African website, South Africa’s motorists face a steep petrol and diesel price hike next week from midnight on Tuesday, 5 March.
At the time of publishing, petrol is due to rise by between 115-120 cents per litre, while diesel is expected to be increased by between 108 and 121 cents per litre.
HELPFUL CONTACT DETAILS
For any further queries, get in touch with SASSA directly:
- Contact the SASSA Toll-Free Call centre on 0800 60 10 11
- Contact the SASSA Head Office on (012) 400 2322
- Email SASSA Head Office at: grantsenquiries@sassa.gov.za
- Contact details of SASSA offices across the country: SASSA offices
