Beneficiaries of the R370 Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD Grant) in Benoni say they struggle to update their details, check the status of their applications, or get help from the local South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) office or the agency’s online portal.
When we visited the Benoni SASSA office last week, we found long queues, which are especially bad on Fridays. Many of those seeking help said their grant payments had been discontinued, and they needed to update their details. They had unsuccessfully tried to use the online system.
People had come from as far afield as Daveyton, Emandleni informal settlement, and Apex.
Some had made several trips at great cost to them. They complained that the system was slow and often offline, only one official was dealing with SRD grants, and the queue moved very slowly. We met people who said they had spent the whole day waiting, only to be turned away.
Nothando Gumede said her grant was last paid in December. She has been trying since February to update her details at the Benoni office.
She arrived as early as 6am only to find the queue so long she never made it inside.
The same was true for David Nkosi, from Daveyton, who said he’d also been to the Benoni office several times.
“Officials only come out to cut off the line, telling us they have closed for the day or that the system is offline,” said Gumede.
Also in the queue were first-time applicants who had matriculated in 2025. They said they had struggled to apply using the online system. Others said they had applied years ago, but were still awaiting approval. Some said they had been approved, but never paid. A few were victims of fraud; they had found that their money was being paid to someone else.
Kgothatso Sibanda, Helpline Manager for Black Sash, said that while the SRD system is fully online, many beneficiaries face challenges due to language and technology barriers.
“The system is linked with the Home Affairs system. When the Home Affairs system is offline, the SRD system also becomes offline,” said Sibanda.
Gauteng SASSA spokesperson Lungelo Mkamba acknowledged that there were occasional interruptions to the online systems “due to connectivity challenges, maintenance updates, or network instability”.
Mkamba said that, in April, the Benoni local office received and processed 790 social grant applications and completed 227 grant reviews. To date, for May, the office has attended to 135 SRD inquiries.
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