For more than 28 million South Africans, social grants are not merely a safety net; they are a lifeline. Yet in recent years, that lifeline has repeatedly frayed, with delayed payments, biometric verification failures, and confusing review processes leaving vulnerable families in crisis.
As President Cyril Ramaphosa prepares to deliver the State of the Nation Address (SONA), millions of grant beneficiaries will be listening closely, not for sweeping promises, but for tangible solutions to fix what advocacy groups describe as a system in distress.
Speaking to VOC News, Thandi Henkerman, Western Cape regional manager for Black Sash, said the challenges facing beneficiaries have moved beyond administrative hiccups and now point to deeper governance failures.
“Based on Black Sash’s work with communities across both rural and urban areas, the challenges facing SASSA beneficiaries are no longer isolated administrative issues,” Henkerman said.
“There are systemic barriers that directly affect people’s ability to survive.”
She identified three major areas of concern: access to payments, breakdowns in service systems, and the erosion of dignity.
The most persistent challenge, she explained, is access to payments. Beneficiaries continue to experience verification failures, identity and biometric errors, and unexplained grant lapses, particularly with the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.
“When systems fail, there is often no clear communication, no human support, and no accessible appeals process,” Henkerman said.
“For many families, a technical glitch means no food that month.”
At the same time, rising food prices, electricity tariffs, and transport costs have intensified calls for grant increases, particularly for the SRD grant, which currently stands at R370 per month.
Cape Town resident Nazima Brown, a single mother who depends on the SRD grant, said the amount falls far short of what is needed to survive.
“I’m unemployed, and the only money I have is my grant — R370. It doesn’t even last two days, and what makes it worse is the waiting. Payment is always delayed. You sit at home checking your phone, hoping today might be the day.”
She stressed that delayed payments have immediate consequences.
“The child doesn’t understand why there’s no food or electricity. When the grant is late, I can’t pay what I need to pay. We’re not asking for luxury; we’re just asking to survive.”
According to Sianda Baduza, a basic income grant researcher at the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ), delays are largely driven by tightened biometric and means verification systems.
“Biometric verification is now one of the largest drivers of exclusion for the SRD grant,” Baduza explained.
While SASSA reportedly approves around nine million SRD applications each month, only about seven million beneficiaries receive payment.
“That means roughly two million people are excluded because they cannot complete the verification process,” Baduza said.
He added that intensified review processes for other grants are also contributing to suspensions and lapses.
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VOC News
Photo: Supplied
