Minister Fernandez welcomes extension of 350 SRD Grant

The Western Cape Minister for Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement during the State of the Nation Address (SONA), 11 February 2021, that the Special R350 COVID-19 SRD Grant will be extended for three months, to assist affected beneficiaries due to the pressures brought by the declaration of the National State of Disaster in response to COVID 19.

Whilst SASSA is a national entity and not under the jurisdiction of the Western Cape Government, Minister Fernandez has continued to stress the importance of extending the SRD Grants which lapsed on the 31st of January 2021, as it affects thousands of residents in the province.

“I welcome that President Ramaphosa finally heeded our call to extend the payment of these grants. The Special Covid19 Grant of R350 is an important measure to help mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and reduce the severity of poverty in many vulnerable households.

I will be meeting SASSA Western Cape on Monday, 15 February 2021, as part of our agreed arrangement to meet fortnightly, until the 31st March 2021.

We will continue to monitor the implementation of the proposed plans to address the challenges faced by SASSA regarding the payments of both the Temporary Disability Grants (TDG), which lapsed at the end of February 2020 but were then extended to 31 December 2020, and the Special R350 Covid-19 SRD grants,” said Minister Fernandez.