‘Stop the R370’: Angry South Africans demand SASSA scrap SRD grant for THIS reason
· The South African
A wave of frustration has broken out on Facebook after South Africans reacted to ongoing coverage of SASSA grants, with many calling for the R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to be scrapped entirely and replaced with real job opportunities instead.
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Commenter Mieshca Stevens didn’t hold back, writing: “Take away unemployment grants too. Give people their responsibility back. Create more jobs by investing it in the textile industry again. Open the factories upgrade education.”
Her comment struck a chord with dozens of other users who feel the grant system, rather than lifting South Africans out of poverty, is trapping them in dependency. For Stevens, the solution lies in reviving local manufacturing, particularly the textile sector, which once employed thousands before factory closures and cheap imports gutted the industry.
‘Only disabled and pensioners should get increases’
Facebook user Alan Broodryk went further, arguing that SRD and other grant increases should be reserved only for the most vulnerable. “Only disabled and pensioners should get increases. Stop the child Grant after two kids and stop the r370 people can create work,” he commented.
Broodryk’s remarks reflect a growing sentiment among commenters that grants have become a substitute for employment rather than a temporary safety net, particularly for able-bodied adults of working age.
A grant system stretched thin
Govender Devika summed up the mood in a single line: “The government pays kids to have kids”, a comment that, while blunt, points to a deeper anxiety shared by many South Africans about whether the grant system incentivises the right behaviour.
SASSA currently pays out the R370 SRD grant to millions of unemployed South Africans between the ages of 18 and 59 who meet the means test, at a high cost to the fiscus each month. Critics argue that without accompanying investment in job creation, education and industry, as Stevens suggested, the grant risks becoming a permanent feature rather than the temporary relief measure it was designed to be.
SASSA has not responded to the comments directly, and the SRD grant remains in place for the current payment cycle, with no official indication that the department plans to phase it out or introduce work-linked conditions.
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