Question NW1226 to the Minister of Social Development
18 April 2022 - NW1226
Marais, Ms P to ask the Minister of Social Development
What measures of intervention have been put in place by her department for the thousands of unemployed persons who never received their R350 grants and have been waiting for more than a year with no assistance?
Reply:
To date, all qualifying applications received for the R350 grant since May 2020 to March 2022 have been paid. There are approximately 20 000 applications in an appeal status which have not been paid as yet. Work is currently underway to resolve outstanding appeals.
Improvements have been implemented to ensure that everyone who is approved is able to access their funds. Additional access channels introduced are; Payment into personal bank accounts, which accounts for 58% of all payments for those who access their funds through the post office. Additional channels through retailers have been opened. The retailers currently participating are Pick & Pay, Boxer, Checkers, Shoprite and Usave. Negotiations with the Spar group to allow approved applicants to access their relief grant are at an advanced stage, further announcements will be made shortly.
Payment through mobile phones, will be another access channel available as soon as the contracts with the banks have been finalised. It is expected that this option will be available for the next iteration of the grant from April 2022 to March 2023.