Research Paper No. 340 | Systemic exclusion from a South African social assistance transfer: Drivers, impacts, and who is most at risk

This research paper finds that approximately half of the target population for South Africa's Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant is excluded, with an average of 76% of those excluded being eligible. The study identifies that rapid digitalization and automation, lacking transparency and oversight, create systemic barriers to application, verification, payment, and appeal. These barriers disproportionately affect those already marginalized by digital, financial, and spatial inequalities, leading to severe hardship and hunger.

• A significant majority of the surveyed target population who were excluded from the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant were erroneously excluded, with an average of 76% meeting the eligibility criteria each month.
• Exclusion from the SRD grant is driven by systemic barriers across the entire process, including the application stage, the verification of eligibility via proxy-means testing, the receipt of payments after approval, and the process of appealing incorrect decisions.
• The rapid shift toward digitalization and automation of the grant system, lacking sufficient transparency, accountability, and oversight, is a primary cause of these systemic barriers.
• Certain marginalized groups are more vulnerable to erroneous exclusion, specifically those facing digital and financial exclusion, gender and spatial inequality, lack of identification documents, or specific immigration statuses.
• Exclusion from the grant has severe material and social consequences, including hunger, extreme hardship, the undermining of livelihood activities, and the reinforcement of a poverty trap.
• The study indicates that approximately half of the target population for the SRD grant—which is intended for working-age adults—is excluded from the programme.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (n.d.). Research Paper No. 340 | Systemic exclusion from a South African social assistance transfer: Drivers, impacts, and who is most at risk. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/South-Africa-SRD-exclusions_WEB.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Research Paper No. 340 | Systemic exclusion from a South African social assistance transfer: Drivers, impacts, and who is most at risk. n.d. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/South-Africa-SRD-exclusions_WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Research Paper No. 340 | Systemic exclusion from a South African social assistance transfer: Drivers, impacts, and who is most at risk |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/South-Africa-SRD-exclusions_WEB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjusticendresearch, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Research Paper No. 340 | Systemic exclusion from a South African social assistance transfer: Drivers, impacts, and who is most at risk}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/South-Africa-SRD-exclusions_WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }