LITIGATING THE RIGHT TO SOCIAL ASSISTANCE

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) details a legal challenge brought by the IEJ and #PayTheGrants against the South African government. The case contests the administration of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, arguing that systemic barriers, an arbitrary budget cap, and a static grant value violate the constitutional right to social assistance.

• The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, introduced in May 2020, provides R350 per month to individuals aged 18-59 with a monthly income below R624. While it has mitigated hunger and helped some enter the labour market, its real value has declined due to inflation, falling to R294 in real terms (CPI-adjusted) and R273 when adjusted for food inflation.
• There is a significant gap between the number of eligible people and those receiving the grant. While estimates suggest at least 16 million people are eligible, fewer than 8 million received payment in September 2023, representing an exclusion rate of over 50%.
• The IEJ argues that the government uses an arbitrary budget cap to limit the number of recipients, which forces the Department of Social Development (DSD) and SASSA to implement restrictive application procedures to stay within funding limits. For the 2023/24 budget, funding was provided for only 8.5 million recipients.
• The legal challenge identifies several procedural barriers that exclude eligible applicants, including an online-only application process, an over-broad definition of 'income' that includes irregular payments or money held for others, and the use of erroneous government databases for verification.
• The appeals process for the SRD grant is described as ineffective because it does not allow applicants to submit new evidence or documentation to contextualize bank payments. Between July and October 2022, only 0.5-0.83% of appeals were successful, and no appeals based on failing the means test were upheld.
• Systemic failures in payment systems have led to approved beneficiaries not receiving funds. In March 2023, approximately 14% of approved applicants had not been paid. Specific issues were noted with 'cash send' and Post Bank systems, with 350,000 and nearly 500,000 beneficiaries awaiting payments respectively as of May 23, 2023.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2024). LITIGATING THE RIGHT TO SOCIAL ASSISTANCE. https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IEJ-SRD-court-case-policy-brief.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. LITIGATING THE RIGHT TO SOCIAL ASSISTANCE. 2024. https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IEJ-SRD-court-case-policy-brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=LITIGATING THE RIGHT TO SOCIAL ASSISTANCE |date=January 2024 |url=https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IEJ-SRD-court-case-policy-brief.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2024litigating, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{LITIGATING THE RIGHT TO SOCIAL ASSISTANCE}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IEJ-SRD-court-case-policy-brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }