Who Qualifies For the R350 Grant: Applying For SRD Grant
Who qualifies for the R350 grant and how do you go about applying for SRD grant.
After the government ended the National State of Disaster in April 2022, Minister Zulu was criticised for change the qualification criteria for those applying for SRD grant.
Before the criteria of who qualifies for the R350 grant was changed, anyone whose monthly income was less than R550 could qualify.
However, the monthly income threshold for those applying for the SRD grant was revised down to just R350 per month.
This meant that millions of poor South Africans were excluded from applying for SRD grant as their income exceeded the threshold.
However, there could be some good news coming the way of those who were previously excluded from applying for SRD grant.
If You Have Already Applied For the R350 SRD Grant…
Do a SASSA Status Check For R350 To Make Sure You’re Registered
Criteria For Who Qualifies For the R350 Grant
The latest news for those applying for the SRD grant is that Minister Zulu has proposed raising the income threshold to qualify for the R350 grant.
This is really good news, as it has been proposed that the income threshold is raised from R350 to R624.
The Latest News On SASSA R350 Grant for 2022 is that Minister Zulu has raised the minimum income threshold to R624 per month.
This was gazetted on 15 August 2022, and will include millions more who qualifies for the R350 grant.
This means that it will provide relief for millions of poor people who could qualify for the R350 grant.
Why choose the figure of R624 for who qualifies for the R350 grant?
There’s a good reason for proposing the increased income threshold to R624 as this is the figure of the national poverty line.
Furthermore, regulation 2(5) currently states that, “The income threshold for insufficient means, contemplated in this regulation is R350 per person per month.”
One of the main reasons for proposing the increased threshold for who qualifies for the R350 grant, is that the current approval rate is exceptionally low.
It follows therefore, that millions of needy South Africans are unable to apply for the SRD grant as their income exceeds the exceptionally low threshold amount of R350.
As reported in the Daily Maverick, Neil Coleman of the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) echoed what many would agree with.
“The exclusion level is absolutely horrendous; over 10 million people applied for June and only five million people were approved, which means that there has been a reduction of nearly six million people when you compare it to March”
He also went on to say that the ridiculously low approval rate is due to all of the problematic procedures that SASSA has put in place.
The SASSA spokesman estimated that almost 6 million people had been excluded from applying for SRD grant due to their income being above the R350 threshold.
Other reasons for the low approval rate of who qualifies for the R350 grant were cited as follows.
- Applicants were found on other government databases indicating that they have some form of social grant.
- Applicants responded that they already had alternative forms of support and/or income.
- Applicants’ bank accounts reflected an additional income source which pushed them over the income threshold limit for the SRD grant.
More Opportunities For Who Qualifies For the R350 Grant
More good news for those who have been excluded from applying for SRD grant, is that the IEJ and Black Sash have launched a legal challenge against the government for delays in processing SRD grant payments.
Many qualifying grant beneficiaries only started receiving their R350 payments for April and May towards the end of June year.
Their legal action against the government is also to do with the exclusion of millions of people from getting the R350 grant due to the lower qualifying criteria.
Furthermore, Black Sash said the income threshold of who qualifies for the R350 grant was “unlawful and regressive” and that the minister had consulted diligently on the minimum threshold of R350, which made it procedurally unfair.
Many would agree that the R350 income threshold, being lower than the R624 poverty line, is too low and unfair.
You Could Be One Who Qualifies For the R350 Grant Now…