39 672 public service employees apply for the R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant

24 March 2021

The DA calls on the Social Security Agency of South Africa (SASSA) and the Department of Social Development (DSD) to urgently solicit the assistance of the Department of Public Service and Administration in concluding the investigations into the 36 972 public service employees who applied for the Special Relief of Distress (SRD) grant of R350 per month, as well as the investigations into the 241 public service employees who received the SRD grant for the month of May 2020.

As of February 2021, an astonishing 39 672 public service employees had applied for the SRD grant. However, no disciplinary or legal action has been instituted against them as the SASSA-led investigations into their applications are still ongoing and have yet to be concluded. This was revealed by the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, in a written response to a parliamentary question posed by the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Minister Zulu further disclosed that no legal steps have been taken to recover the grants paid to the 241public service employees who received the SRD grant for the month of May 2020 as the investigations into these payments are also still ongoing. A total amount of R84 350 was paid to public service employees who applied for the SRD grant for the month of May 2020.

While the DA welcomes the fact that DSD has since put systems in place to prevent public service employees from fraudulently and/or unlawfully applying for and/or receiving an SRD grant, and that SASSA has implemented a system to ensure that public service employees do not receive the SRD grant by matching the ID numbers of approved and new applicants for the grant against various databases such as the PERSAL and PERSOL databases, we are concerned that the investigations into the 39 672 implicated public service employees have yet to be concluded.

Decisive disciplinary and legal action must be taken against these public service employees. The SRD grant is intended solely for the most vulnerable and distressed members of our society and should not be open to abuse by public service employees who are drawing a monthly salary from State coffers.

Issued byMimmy Gondwe,DA Shadow Deputy Minister for Public Service and Administration, 24 March 2021