Media Statement

Pretoria, 11 March 2022: The Department of Social Development wishes to remind South Africans to make comments on the amendment of Social Relief of Distress (SRD) regulations. The draft regulations on SRD were published for public comments on the 22 February 2022 and members of the public are encouraged to make comments on the draft SRD regulations published in Government Gazette No R 117 of 22 February 2022. The regulations can also be accessed on www.dsd.gov.za and comments sent to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by not later than midnight on Sunday, 13 March 2022.

This is in response to the pronouncement by His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa, in the State of the Nation Address this year that the R350 SRD Grant will be extended for a year ending March 2023; “to ensure that no person in this country has to endure the pain and indignity of hunger.”

The SRD grant is targeting persons aged between 18 and 59 years old, who are without any source of income support, and those facing undue financial hardships due to unemployment as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The amendments are also aligned to Government's decision to increase the Child Support Grant (CSG), the Care Dependency Grant and the Foster Child Grant (FCG) which will be focusing mainly on protection of children, as announced by the National Treasury in February.

Social Relief of Distress (SRD) is both an immediate response to a crisis in respect of an individual, a family or a community in the case of a disaster, or temporary relief to an individual in the case of insufficient means. Its primary purpose is to ensure that vulnerable persons have access to means of survival.

To ensure that there is uniform procedure in respect of social relief of distress and is consistently applied within SASSA across all nine provinces and during the administration and consideration of appeals relating to SRD grants; the Department also developed a procedure manual to assist with the implementation of regulatory framework relating to Social Relief of Distress.

To respond to the concerns by South Africans on the pace of the appeals for the SRD grant, the Department has also advertised for suitable members to be part of the appeals tribunal when their applications are rejected by SASSA.

These draft regulations make provision for operationalization or implementation of the SRD R350 grant to persons with “insufficient means” as stated in the procedure manual for social assistance which will be consulted with stakeholders on 14 and 22 March 2022.

Members of the public who wish to be part of the consultation can join the Department on:

Facebook: https://fb.me/e/4v5NVdQyT

Zoom: https://gcis.zoom.us/j/91558966528

Time: 08:00 - 16:00

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Enquiries may be directed to Ms Lumka Oliphant on 083 484 8067 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.