Applicants for the R350 social relief of distress grant whose applications have been declined have 30 days to appeal for reconsideration.
The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) made the announcement on Monday after more than 3.7-million applications were declined for August.
“If your application for the special Covid-19 social relief distress grant is declined, you have the right to appeal within 30 days of receiving the declined reason,” said Sassa.
During his national address on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said out of the 13-million applications, 8.3-million were approved and payments have started to the recipients.
He said the reasons that applications have been declined were “mainly because applicants have other identified sources of income or are registered for assistance like Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)”.
“Around 845,000 applications are still in the validation process. Along with the other measures we have put in place, this grant is providing critical assistance to unemployed South Africans at this most difficult time,” he said.
How do I appeal?
Appeals can be made on the SRD website. Click on the “application for consideration”.
Sassa said there is no set time to appeal. Applicants will receive a response when the process is done
“You can request reconsideration for each time that the application is declined. There is no set time for appeal,” said Sassa.
In the last round of applications, Sassa said appeals should be sent to covid19srdappeals@sassa.gov.za.
Should I disclose changes in my financial situation?
Yes, Sassa warned that it is the responsibility of every citizen whose financial circumstances change, even while they are receiving the grant, to inform the agency of the change immediately.
“This allows for their eligibility for continued receipt of the grant to be reviewed. Further action will be taken where it is found ineligible public servants have continued to receive these grants,” said Sassa.
I have been approved, when can I expect payment?
Sassa said beneficiaries of the R350 grant cannot be given a specific date when the payment will be made.
“There is no set payment date for the special Covid-19 SRD grant. If your application has been approved, you will certainly receive payment for that month,” it said.
Bank orpost office, which payment method is quickest?
Applicants are advised to provide their banking details to avoid having to go to SA Post Office outlets.
“Sassa confirms the bank account method as the most convenient and quickest way to receive the grant, thereby avoiding queues at the postoffice,” it said.
“Thepost office does not pay the social relief of distress grant during the normal social grant payments of the old age, disability and children’s grant.”
I chose the ‘cash send’ option but still haven’t been paid. What happened?
Sassa general manager for grants operations Fanie Sethokga told SAfm last week there has been a delay in paying those who chose the “cash send” option.
He said Sassa had not yet finalised a deal with banking institutions, and beneficiaries would only be able to receive their payment through the option once agreements with banks have been concluded.
“I can’t confirm right now whether we will be done by this week, but I think, possibly, sometime towards the end of next week, we might be able to give a proper answer,” said Sethokga.
I still want to collect at thepost office, when can I go collect my payment?
Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi pleaded with recipients of the social relief grant not to flock to post offices to collect their payments before receiving an SMS.
“If you go to a post office because your neighbour told you they received their SMS, you won’t be assisted,” he said.
Recipients can collect their payments at post offices by using the ID number system, which determines payment dates according to the last three digits of beneficiaries’ identity numbers.
Here’s when you can collect your money this month:
080
September 14, 21 and 28.
081
September 15, 22 and 29.
082
September 16, 23 and 30.
083
September 17.
084
September 20 and 27.
085
September 14, 21 and 28.
086
September 15, 22 and 29.
087
September 15, 23 and 30.
088
September 17.
089
September 20 and 27.