IEJ welcomes court ruling on SRD grant access

IEJ welcomes court ruling on SRD grant access

The Institute for Economic Justice has expressed relief that access to the Social Relief of Distress Grant will soon be easier.

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Photo: Facebook, Sassa News

On Thursday, the High Court in Pretoria ruled that the South African Social Security Agency’s 2023 regulations, which limited access to the R370 grant, are unconstitutional and invalid.

 

"One of the fights we had for the SRD grant was that the government was treating it as a temporary grant. What we were asking for was not even necessarily that the court must dictate a value to the department, but rather the department has to actually plan for this grant on a long-term basis, which is something they haven't been doing," said the advocacy group's Siyanda Baduza.

 

The IEJ, along with group #PayTheGrants, took the Social Development Minister to court over the matter.

 READ: SASSA to suspend SRD grants over ID verification

Baduza has called the ruling historic, saying that SASSA had unlawfully excluded millions of recipients from the grant.

 

"So, things like for example, an online-only application system, only SRD grants that were not on any other grants, which, of course, will disadvantage people who say don't have internet access or don't have smartphones. Even a bank verification method was another that was being challenged."

 

Minister Sisisi Tolashe has been ordered to deliver a new plan to the parties and the court within four months.



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