CORRECTION as at 16:40, 9 October: Please note an earlier version of this statement incorrectly asserted that SASSA had failed to clarify that the application numbers were cumulative. SASSA did make this clarification in a statement on 7 October, and the relevant assertion has been removed from this statement.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) recently released September application numbers for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD, R370) grant in response to a request from Ground Up, which showed that the agency assessed 17.2 million applications for the grant in September.
The figures have since been characterised in the media and by SASSA spokespeople as indicating a sudden increase or “spike” in application numbers, driven by an uptick in attempts to access the grant fraudulently.
In a televised interview, SASSA spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi dismissed many applicants as “chancers” and “fraudsters” trying to cheat the system and said that SASSA did not read too much into the numbers having “skyrocketed”, given that the majority of these applicants would not be approved for the grant anyway.
The Universal Basic Income Coalition (UBIC) is compelled to respond to these sweeping statements which villainise millions of vulnerable people—the vast majority of whom are trying to access meagre assistance in the face of dire food poverty, as is their constitutional right.
Numbers have not ‘skyrocketed’
17.2 million applications in September does not represent a sudden spike in applications. It is in line with the historical trend of application numbers for the grant as SASSA’s own data shows:
Applications and approvals for, and payments of the SRD grant September 2021 – September 2024
Data gathered from SASSA presentations to parliament and parliamentary committees, court affidavits and media releases
NOTE: We are not aware of data for the period September 2023 to April 2024, and payment and approval data post-September 2023 and July 2024 respectively having been made public by SASSA.
NOTE: In April 2022 the grant criteria changed and all existing applications became invalid forcing people to apply again at short notice (as such application numbers dropped significantly at that time, taking two years to recover).
As SASSA was forced to clarify in a statement issued on Monday, applications for the SRD grant are cumulative, in the sense that they are submitted once, and then remain valid and re-assessed on a month-to-month basis unless withdrawn. As such 17.2 million new applications were not submitted for the SRD grant in September 2024. There were 17.2 million valid existing applications in that month—an increase of 1.8 million new applications since September 2023, and only 55000 since July 2024.
These increases can partly be explained by the numbers of people ageing into eligibility for the grant, compared to those ageing out (i.e. more people are turning 18 than are turning 60), as well as increases in the cost of living relative to income (and likely increases in food poverty), and the fact that the total number of unemployed people (including discouraged work seekers) has increased by 0.3 million over the past year. In short, they represent the actual level of need that exists for income support and are an indicator of the scale of the crisis of poverty and hunger among adults in South Africa.
Application numbers almost exactly reflect eligibility estimates
According to the qualifying criteria for the SRD, almost everyone who is between the ages of 18 and 60 and only has “means” (income or financial support) below R624 per month, is eligible to receive the grant. Researchers and experts have given us credible estimates of how many people actually meet these criteria:
- An international team of researchers from Oxford, New Orleans, Cape Town and Stellenbosch estimated that 16.5 million people were eligible for the grant in 2022.
- In the same year, an expert panel appointed by the Department of Social Development estimated that 16.7 million people were eligible for the grant.
- The previous Minister for Social Development referred repeatedly in public forums to estimates she had been provided which indicated that 18.3 million people aged 18-59 had means below R624.
It is clear that approximately 17 million people are in fact eligible for and in need of the SRD grant in South Africa.
But why are SASSA so keen to play down application numbers as not being a true reflection of eligibility? Because the budget they receive from the National Treasury only allows them to pay the SRD grant to about 8.5 million people per month.
Because of this arbitrary budget cap, SASSA needs to find a way to prevent approximately 9 million eligible people from accessing the grant each month and needs a justification for doing so. Fear-mongering about high levels of fraud provides just such a justification.
Claims of fraud are not substantiated and do not justify rates of exclusion
Whilst there will always be some attempts to access grants disingenuously, SASSA has failed to provide any evidence substantiating the widespread occurrence of fraud in the current SRD grant system, and certainly none that would in any way justify the exclusion of 50% of applicants.
Indeed, in a presentation given to a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee in August this year, SASSA indicated that they had identified 23 fraud cases in relation to the SRD grant in Q1 2023, and only one case in Q1 2024. (For comparison, while still very low, child support grant fraud cases were 51 and 60 respectively in the same periods). This utterly belies SASSA’s claims to the media that fraud cases have climbed so drastically as to explain the exclusion of 9 million applicants from the grant!
If nothing else this points to an egregious lack of accountability for inaccurate public statements by government officials, and an unfortunate failure on the part of members of the media to interrogate official claims.
UBIC has in recent months drawn attention to the use of draconian measures by SASSA to ostensibly combat fraud, which in fact serve to exclude many more deserving beneficiaries than fraudsters.
These include the use of algorithms to profile beneficiaries based on unknown third-party data, as well as the use of facial recognition checks widely known to be extremely difficult to satisfy and all but impossible for holders of green ID books.
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Since these numbers came to the media’s attention last week, SASSA has mischaracterised and misrepresented them by painting communities that they have a fundamental duty to serve as fraudsters and chancers.
This is done in the service of justifying the massive levels of unfair exclusion from the SRD grant, which stem from the woefully inadequate budget provided for the grant by the National Treasury.
The management and administration of the SRD grant is rife with barriers to access which give rise to these breathtaking levels of exclusion, and our members the Institute for Economic Justice and #PayTheGrants are challenging these in the Pretoria High Court, with the hearing scheduled to take place on 29 and 30 October.
[ENDS]
For media inquiries:
- Dalli Weyers (IEJ) | 082 460 2093 | dalli.weyers@iej.org.za
UBIC is comprised of the following organisations:
- Africa UBI Observatory
- Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC)
- Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN)
- Black Sash
- Children’s Institute, UCT
- Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)
- Family Caregiving
- Global Reformed Platforms for Engagement (GRAPE )
- Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ)
- #PayTheGrants
- RightfulShare An Income Movement
- Social Policy Initiative (SPI)
- Women on Farms Project
- Youth Lab
Amaarah is a Junior Programme Officer in the Rethinking Economics for Africa project. She is currently studying towards her Masters in Applied Development Economics at Wits University. 
Dr James Musonda is the Senior Researcher on the Just Energy Transition at the IEJ. He is also the Principal Investigator for the Just Energy Transition: Localisation, Decent Work, SMMEs, and Sustainable Livelihoods project, covering South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya.
Dr Basani Baloyi is a Co-Programme Director at the IEJ. She is a feminist, development economist and activist. She gained her research experience while working on industrial policy issues in academia, at the Centre For Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) and Corporate Strategy and Industrial Development (CSID) Unit.
Dr Andrew Bennie is Senior Researcher in Climate Policy and Food Systems at the IEJ. He has extensive background in academic and civil society research, organising, and activism. Andrew has an MA in Development and Environmental Sociology, and a PhD in Sociology on food politics, the agrarian question, and collective action in South Africa, both from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Juhi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Sociology from Wits University and an Honours degree in Development Studies from the University of Cape Town. Her current research focus is on social care regimes in the South African context, with a particular focus on state responses to Early Childhood Development and Long-Term Care for older persons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her other research areas include feminist economics, worlds of work and the care economy.
Bandile Ngidi is the Programme Officer for Rethinking Economics for Africa. Bandile has previously worked at the National Minimum Wage Research Initiative and Oxfam South Africa. He holds a Masters in Development Theory and Policy from Wits University. He joined the IEJ in August 2018. Bandile is currently working on incubating the Rethinking Economics for Africa movement (working with students, academics and broader civil society). 
Liso Mdutyana has a BCom in Philosophy and Economics, an Honours in Applied Development Economics, and a Masters in Applied Development Economics from Wits University. His areas of interest include political economy, labour markets, technology and work, and industrial policy. Through his work Liso aims to show the possibility and necessity of economic development that prioritises human wellbeing for everyone.
Joan Stott holds a Bachelor of Business Science in Economics and a Master’s in Economics from Rhodes University. She brings to the IEJ a wealth of experience in public finance management, policy development, institutional capacity-building, and advancing socioeconomic and fiscal justice.
Siyanda Baduza is a Junior Basic Income Researcher at IEJ. He holds a BSc in Economics and Mathematics, an Honours degree in Applied Development Economics, and is currently completing a Master’s degree in Applied Development Economics at the University of the Witwatersrand. Siyanda’s research focuses on the impacts of social grants on wellbeing, with a particular focus on the gendered dynamics of this impact. His interests include applied micro-economics, policy impact evaluation, labour markets, gender economics, and political economy. He is passionate about translating economic research into impactful policy.
Shikwane is a Junior Programme Officer at IEJ focusing on civil society support and global governance in the G20. He has a background in legal compliance, IT contracting and student activism. He holds degrees in Political Studies and International Relations, as well as an LLB, from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Dr Tsega is a Senior Researcher focusing on Women’s Economic Empowerment within the G20. She examines gender equity in economic policy, with expertise in food systems and small enterprise development. She holds a PhD in development studies from the University of the Western Cape, an MA in Development Economics, and degrees in Development Studies and Economics from UNISA and Addis Ababa University.
Nerissa is a G20 Junior Researcher at IEJ, focusing on advancing civil society priorities within the G20 framework. She bridges data, research, and policy to advance inclusive economic frameworks. She is completing a Master’s in Data Science (e-Science) at the University of the Witwatersrand, and holds Honours and Bachelor’s Degrees in International Relations with distinction. She has worked as a Research Fellow at SAIIA and a Visiting Research Fellow at Ipea in Brazil.
Dr Mzwanele is a Senior Researcher supporting South Africa’s G20 Sherpa with policy research. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Birmingham and an MSc from the University of the Witwatersrand. His work covers open macroeconomics, trade, finance, and higher education policy, and he has published widely on inequality, unemployment, household debt and higher education curriculum reform.
Kamal is the Project Lead for IEJ’s G20 work, focusing on sovereign debt and development finance. He holds a BComm (Hons) in Applied Development Economics from the University of the Witwatersrand and an Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in Economic Policies for the Global Transition. He has worked with SCIS, UNCTAD and co-founded Rethinking Economics for Africa.