GOOD Statement by Brett Herron ,
GOOD Secretary-General
23 January 2025
The GOOD Party welcomes the High Court judgement ordering SASSA and the Ministers of Finance and Social Development to address barriers that deprive millions of South Africans access to the Social Relief of Distress Grant to which they are Constitutionally entitled.
Despite admitting that the number of people who would be eligible to receive the SRD grant may be as high as 18.3 million, National Treasury had reduced the budget for the SRD grant from R36 billion to R33.6 billion for the 2024/2025 financial year which was sufficient only to cover approximately half of the number of people in need, Judge ML Twala of the High Court in Pretoria said.
“This is the result of the use of administrative and procedural obstacles which serve the purpose of excluding people who are most vulnerable and in need of social assistance, and who would ordinarily be eligible, from receiving the grant. “
In a scathing judgement, Judge Twala said SASSA and the Department of Social Development “seem to be oblivious” to the human suffering and indignation caused by the combination of inefficient administration and the deployment of regulations with barriers that preclude the eligible SRD grant applicants from receiving it.
In addition, the judge said Government had provided no explanation why the SRD grant was significantly less than the food poverty line although the purpose of the SRD grant is to alleviate hunger and poverty. The food poverty line for 2023 was R760 a month, while the SRD grant was pegged at R350.
The fact that there had been no meaningful progressive realisation of the grant, to keep up with inflation, was unconstitutional.
Judge Twala said it was unconscionable for government to accept that the number of people with insufficient means to support themselves and their dependents is more than 18.3 million, but only budgeted to provide for 10.5 million people. “This is so because the regulations have placed barriers to exclude the eligible applicants from receiving the SRD grant.”
More than 16 million poor South Africans benefited from the SRD grant in the initial stages, in 2020. With the promulgation of regulations to the SRD grant and the subsequent amendments to these regulations, the number of applicants that were approved to receive the grant had been drastically reduced.
In March 2023, 14 million people applied for the grant, but only 8.3 million of those applications were approved. This had resulted in National Treasury reducing its budget for the grant from R44 billion to R36 billion in 2023/2024.
Judge Twala quoted a Constitutional Court judgement dealing with the issue of the reasonableness of legislation governing the SRD grant. The Constitutional Court said: “Those who are unable to survive without social assistance are equally desperate and equally in need of such assistance… The right of access to social security, including social assistance, for those unable to support themselves and their dependants is entrenched because as a society we value human beings and want to ensure that people are afforded their basic needs.”
Judge Twala found that the SRD grant was not temporary and had equal standing with other social grants under the SSA. The online-only application process was declared unreasonable and unconstitutional, and definitions of income and financial support “too expansive” to avoid unjust exclusions.
In addition, the grant value and income threshold needed to account for inflation and ensure progressive realization of socio-economic rights.
The court instructed Government to address the inadequacies in grant value and access, ensuring compliance with constitutional obligations.
The GOOD Party campaigned throughout 2024 for the conversion of the SRD grant to a Basic Income Grant of at least R999 a month – a sum that was just above the food poverty line to cater for real additional expenses all people incur to clothe themselves, catch public transport, toiletries etc.
Prior to launching the BIG campaign, GOOD contracted an economist to conduct a thorough assessment on what the State could afford by eliminating wastage. The sum of R999 per month was affordable, but required the State to prioritise the basic rights of the poorest citizens to eat.
With Judge Twala’s order that the SRD grant is not temporary, and that it should be managed as other social grants are, it appears that the BIG is finally loading.
GOOD commends the Institute for Economic Justice and #PayTheGrants for taking the matter to court.
Media enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD: Secretary-General & Member of the Western Cape Parliament
Cell: 082 5183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Samantha Jackson, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 083 5509875
Email: samantha@forgood.org.za