South Africa's SRD grant faces legal scrutiny over automated vetting

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is facing legal scrutiny over its digital Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant program. A High Court previously found the automated vetting system used to identify eligible recipients unconstitutional and invalid. The case, brought by the Institute for Economic Justice and the #PayTheGrants movement, is moving to the Supreme Court of Appeal following a government appeal.

Introduced in 2020, the R370-a-month grant was intended for the country’s most destitute citizens. However, shifts to online-only applications and automated decision-making led to a significant drop in successful applicants, falling from approximately 16 million at inception to 5.6 million by 2022. This reduction allowed the government to cut the grant budget by billions of rands.

In related administrative updates, SASSA has announced that August 2026 SRD payments are scheduled for between 24 and 26 August. The agency also launched a new automated WhatsApp self-service channel to allow beneficiaries to check application and payment statuses without visiting offices or using the call center.