Ramaphosa confirms R350 grant payments to resume next week

10 June 2022 - 20:17
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that after a two-month delay in paying out the R350 grant, payments will be backdated and will resume next week.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that after a two-month delay in paying out the R350 grant, payments will be backdated and will resume next week.
Image: SA government via Twitter

President Cyril Ramaphosa says while there have been delays in paying out the R350 grant to millions of beneficiaries, the payments will resume next week.

“I have now been given a report that they are going to start paying next week and they will be backdating because our people have been relying on this,” he said on Friday.

The president was asked what the government was doing to assist those who had not received their R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant in May and April.

Ramaphosa announced during his 2022 state of the nation address that the grant would be extended for another 12 months even though the country was not under a national state of disaster.

“There were problems. When this whole R350 grant started I got involved with the officials and it was concerning. I kept asking how are we going to be able to pay this amount and they said, 'Mr President we are working with a few service providers and in the end we might have to do it ourselves,' and it really concerned me at the time.

“The applications started coming through and it was six million at the time and I kept asking will we be able to pay and they said, ‘Mr President we are able to pay. We have inaugurated a new system from scratch and we will be able to pay [and people who have cellphones will do this and that].”

Ramaphosa said initially this seemed to work flawlessly.

“People needed to have bank accounts and some needed to get money with their phones. With the second iteration when we were no longer under the Covid-19 regulations, we found that we needed now to do it in a new way where we would largely bring in the banks ... Post Office and Post Bank and that started the delays that have ensued,” he said.

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.