The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on South Africa’s economy and the livelihood of its citizens. Many South Africans lost their incomes as a result of the pandemic and subsequent lock-down regulations. In an effort to provide relief, South Africa introduced a special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant (cSRD) to address income support gap and food insecurity.

When the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) was forced to reduce the number of clients permitted to visit its offices.

Clients were not permitted to visit SASSA offices to give consent for funeral insurance deductions from their social assistance payments. Through collaboration with one of the local Fintech companies, SASSA introduced submission of electronic mandates in two phases:

The effect of climate change is already a measurable reality posing significant social, economic, and environmental risks globally. For a developing country like South Africa, the risks associated with climate change are exacerbated by high levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment. The World Bank’s Climate Risk Country Profile for South Africa (2021) states that climate change is expected to increase the risk and severity of water scarcity and drought across South Africa.

The Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals (ITSAA) was established in 2008 to give effect to section 33 of the Constitution of South Africa and domestic legislation relating to the Promotion of Administrative Justice. The ITSAA is responsible for adjudicating appeals received from disgruntled social grant applicants and beneficiaries following grant applications or reviews by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

The Child Support Grant (CSG) is one of the social assistance programmes in South Africa established to address child poverty. Emerging from the apartheid regime, the democratic government introduced the CSG in 1998 to replace the racially based State Maintenance Grant (SMG), which had been in existence from the 1930s providing income protection to white families, excluding most black families and their children. The new grant removed the racially discriminatory features, which expanded the coverage to all eligible children.