Grants under attack in South Africa: How to save social protection

The National Treasury has instructed the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to reduce the number of social grant recipients through strict verification procedures, such as facial recognition and bank account checks, to protect the fiscus. The Institute for Economic Justice reports that similar procedures for the R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant resulted in up to 90% of applicants being wrongly rejected. This occurs against a backdrop of rising food insecurity, with the proportion of households experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity increasing from 16% in 2019 to 20% in 2023, and child poverty rising from 55.6% in 2019 to 69.9% in 2022. To address this, advocates propose a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for all working-age adults, financed by additional taxation on the wealthy, to stimulate the economy and ensure redistributive justice.

• The National Treasury is pressuring the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to decrease the number of grant recipients by threatening to withhold its operating budget. This involves implementing verification measures, including facial recognition and bank account checks, and requiring quarterly reports on cancelled grants and resulting savings.
• Verification procedures previously applied to the R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant led to a wrongful rejection rate of up to 90% for applicants, and some of these procedures were ruled unconstitutional and invalid by the High Court.
• South Africa is experiencing worsening poverty and food insecurity: the expanded unemployment rate is 42.9%, and the proportion of children living in poverty rose from 55.6% in 2019 to 69.9% in 2022.
• The coverage and real value of social grants are declining; Child Support Grant (CSG) coverage dropped from 69.1% in 2021 to 65.5%, and food insecurity among grant-reliant households rose from 27% in 2019 to 35% in 2023.
• Advocates propose a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for all working-age adults as a right to replace means-testing and onerous verification, suggesting it be funded through additional taxes on the wealthiest citizens.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2025). Grants under attack in South Africa: How to save social protection. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Concept-note-IEJ-SMWX-grants-crisis.docx.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Grants under attack in South Africa: How to save social protection. 2025. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Concept-note-IEJ-SMWX-grants-crisis.docx.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Grants under attack in South Africa: How to save social protection |date=14 September 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Concept-note-IEJ-SMWX-grants-crisis.docx.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2025grants, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Grants under attack in South Africa: How to save social protection}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Concept-note-IEJ-SMWX-grants-crisis.docx.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }