Historic judgment in SRD grant court case stands to benefit half of South Africas population

The North Gauteng (Pretoria) High Court ruled in favor of the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants, finding that the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant is a permanent social grant rather than a temporary measure. The judgment declares several government barriers to grant access as unlawful and unconstitutional, potentially expanding access to up to 18.3 million people.

• The North Gauteng (Pretoria) High Court ruled that the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant has the same legal status as other social grants under the Social Assistance Act (SAA) and is not a temporary measure.
• The court found that the government's exclusively online application process is irrational and illegal because it excludes the poorest applicants, noting that approximately 22% of the population lacks internet access according to the General Household Survey. The judge ordered that regulations be amended to allow in-person applications at SASSA offices.
• The judgment declares the use of automated bank verification and out-of-date government databases (including UIF, NSFAS, and SARS IRP5) to determine eligibility as unlawful and unconstitutional. The court held these processes were designed to deliberately limit the number of beneficiaries to reduce costs rather than to prevent abuse.
• The court ruled that the government cannot cut off grant access based on an arbitrary budget cap set by the National Treasury, striking down the relevant regulation as unconstitutional and invalid.
• The government is required to develop a plan within four months to progressively increase the value of the SRD grant (currently R370) and the means-test threshold (currently R624), using official poverty lines as a reference to address the retrogression in value.
• The court ordered SASSA to investigate and create a plan within four months to rectify systemic non-payment and late payment issues, which have affected 10-15% of successful applicants each month.
• The judgment affirms that up to 18.3 million people should be able to access the SRD grant, which would benefit the approximately 7.5 million current recipients and up to 11 million people currently excluded.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2025). Historic judgment in SRD grant court case stands to benefit half of South Africas population. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/statement-historic-judgment-in-srd-grant-court-case-stands-to-benefit-half-of-south-africas-population/

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Historic judgment in SRD grant court case stands to benefit half of South Africas population. 2025. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/statement-historic-judgment-in-srd-grant-court-case-stands-to-benefit-half-of-south-africas-population/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Historic judgment in SRD grant court case stands to benefit half of South Africas population |date=24 January 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/statement-historic-judgment-in-srd-grant-court-case-stands-to-benefit-half-of-south-africas-population/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjustice2025historic, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Historic judgment in SRD grant court case stands to benefit half of South Africas population}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/statement-historic-judgment-in-srd-grant-court-case-stands-to-benefit-half-of-south-africas-population/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }