Haven’t heard from Sassa after appealing your declined R350 grant application? Here’s why

The SA Social Services Agency (Sassa) has finalised “two-thirds” of appeals lodged by applicants who were rejected for the Covid-19 social relief of distress (SRD) grant, the agency told TimesLIVE.

CEO Busisiwe Memela-Khambula said Sassa works with banks to investigate whether applicants have alternative income sources before they can be approved to receive the grant. 

“Sassa sends these cases to the banking sector for validation, which may take time in some cases. The main purpose is to double-check if applicants do not receive an income because part of the Covid-19 SRD criteria is that applicants should be unemployed and without any income,” said Memela-Khambula.

Last month Sassa told TimesLIVE applicants who receive Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) payments or are owed by the UIF can be rejected for the SRD grant. This can be cleared with the department of employment and labour.

The same can happen with newly unemployed applicants if the system does not reflect their new status.

Applicants who are found to have funds of more than R595 during the vetting process can also be rejected unless the funds are from a Sassa child-related grant. 

Memela-Khambula urged applicants who have not received feedback on their appeals to be patient, and assured them the agency is working around the clock to finalise the vetting process by the banks. 

Sassa has received nearly 14 million applications since August and has approved 8.3 million applicants, with more than 5.6 million having received payments by September 2021.

The agency continues to receive an influx of grant applications.