Latest Sassa News Update

In today’s Sassa news – While other countries place refugees in camps, South Africa brings them into the community to integrate. The Department of Social Development has published the list of people who received grants from the government.

Sassa is a South African social grant scheme which provides financial benefits to eligible elderly, disabled and unemployed people. It offers a monthly stipend of R850 per household, or R400 per child. About 2.1 million beneficiaries are receiving payments through Sassa

Amid debates on what refugees ought to benefit from in South Africa, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) spokesperson maintains that social grant beneficiaries are entitled to all kinds of support.

Paseka Letsatsi has highlighted that the government agency laws clearly state that refugees or the Asylum Seekers shouldn’t be discriminated against and their rights also ought to be acknowledged.

In a recent parliamentary meeting, Department of Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu revealed that the Agency does provide both asylum seekers and refugees with a form of government assistance.

In an interview

Letsatsi has reiterated:

Sassa paid more than R34 million to refugees, R63 million to asylum seekers as part of the R350 Social Relief Distress (SRD) grant.

The South African Government is aware that there is a clear difference between illegal immigrants and refugees. Hence, the immigration authorities require applicants to provide documentation that proves their identity in an application form, as well as any other state document that will help them establish their citizenship.

The South African government encourages refugees and asylum seekers to file a formal refugee claim with the South African government. Filing for refugee status in South Africa requires you to visit one of the Department of Home Affairs offices, where you will be assisted by an immigration official with all necessary processes involved.

The SRD grant is meant for unemployed South African citizens, refugees, Asylum Seekers and special permit holders, who are between the ages of 18 and 60 years old.

In order to qualify for the Sassa UIF Grant, an individual must be a South African citizen or permanent resident of South Africa, who is registered on the Home Affairs system as a refugee and has been residing in South Africa for at least a year.

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