Applicants for the R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant can follow the progress of their application using WhatsApp.
The method is one of several introduced by the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) to make grant applications easily accessible to applicants.
Here’s how:
- Save the number 082 046 8553 listed on the Sassa website to your cellphone.
- Type ‘status’ and you will receive a response asking for your reference number.
- Send the reference number and you will receive a notification regarding the status of your application.
The R350 grant was introduced last year and expired in April.
In July 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the grant will be reintroduced to help unemployed individuals and those affected by the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Recipients can receive their grants at a post office or through Cash Send or their banks.
The agency said bank payments are the most popular among beneficiaries.
Sassa lost R11m after thousands improperly benefited from the R350 grant
The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) lost about R11m after 31,955 people improperly benefited from the Covid-19 social relief of distress (SRD) grant, the agency told the parliamentary select committee on health and social services.
Sassa executive for grants administration Dianne Dunkerley told the committee that the agency investigated all beneficiaries after it emerged from a March report by the auditor-general that 67,000 people may have benefited from the grant even though they were not entitled to it, while some were overpaid.
Dunkerley told the committee the agency stopped these payments to prevent any further loss of money.
