SRD court case statement

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants (#PTG), through the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI), filed a court case in the North Gauteng High Court on 21 July 2023. The legal challenge targets regulations and implementation of the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, which the applicants argue unlawfully exclude millions of people in poverty and violate constitutional rights to social assistance and food.

• The number of people receiving the SRD grant has declined significantly from its peak. In March 2022, 10.9 million people were paid, but by May 2023, only 7.1 million people were actually being paid, despite 14.4 million applications and 8.4 million approvals.
• There is a substantial gap between the estimated need for the grant and the actual number of beneficiaries. Research suggests at least 16 million people should be eligible, while government estimates indicate 18.3 million individuals aged 18 to 59 live below the food poverty line.
• The legal challenge identifies nine specific barriers that prevent eligible people from accessing the SRD grant: an over-broad income definition, unlawful online application questions, an online-only process, flawed verification processes, a narrow appeals process, arbitrary exclusion when funds are depleted, the erosion of the grant's value over time, an irrational income threshold, and systemic non-payment of approved beneficiaries.
• The SRD grant is the only permanent social assistance available for able-bodied individuals aged 18 to 59 without income in South Africa. Because 93% of recipients use the grant for food, the current exclusions and the erosion of the grant's real value due to inflation negatively impact the right to food.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (n.d.). SRD court case statement. https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SRD-court-case-statement.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. SRD court case statement. n.d. https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SRD-court-case-statement.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=SRD court case statement |url=https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SRD-court-case-statement.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjusticendsrd, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{SRD court case statement}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, url = {https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SRD-court-case-statement.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }