The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has officially begun paying out the first round of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant, also known as the R350 Grant. As of 25 August 2021, a portion of successful applicants received their R350.
After receiving almost 9 million applications since the new cycle opened on 6 August 2021, with the majority being from male applicants, SASSA will be paying beneficiaries on a monthly basis. Applicants will receive an sms notification, and paid via direct deposit for those who do have bank accounts.
For those who will be physically collecting their grant, the post office has reminded people not to do so until notified to adhere to social distancing protocols. “If a person has not received an SMS from SASSA notifying them that the grant is available for collection, it means the grant is not available yet. In other words, every approved applicant must wait for an SMS confirming that the grant is available before approaching the post office.”
While the ability to check SASSA statuses was temporarily unavailable, the function is now back online through the status portal. SASSA is urging applicants not to visit their local post office just to check their grant application status to reduce the amount of people standing in queues.
Physical payments payouts at the post office are now set according to the last numbers of an applicant’s ID.
The following payment dates have been revealed for those wanting to check their SASSA grant status for collection at the post office:
080
Tuesday August 31
Tuesday September 14
Tuesday September 21
Tuesday September 28
081
Wednesday September 1
Wednesday September 15
Wednesday September 22
Wednesday September 29
082
Thursday September 9
Thursday September 16
Thursday September 23
Thursday September 30
083
Friday September 10
Friday September 17
Friday October 1
084
Monday September 13
Monday September 20
Monday September 27
085
Tuesday August 31
Tuesday September 14
Tuesday September 21
Tuesday September 28
086
Wednesday September 1
Wednesday September 15
Wednesday September 22
Wednesday September 29
087
Thursday September 9
Thursday September 16
Thursday September 23
Thursday September 30
088
Friday September 10
Friday September 17
Friday October 1
089
Monday September 13
Monday September 20
Monday September 27
If you still want to apply for the R350 grant, SASSA does have a specific application process as outlined below:
Source: SASSA
