Recent court findings highlight that the Social Relief of Distress grant system excludes eligible South Africans, raising questions about social assistance rights amid rising economic challenges, where SRD grant beneficiaries are unable to afford an increasingly costly food basket.

In January 2025, the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria handed down a judgment in a case brought by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants, represented by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (Seri), in the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant case against the minister of social development and the South African Social Security Agency. The minister of finance intervened to oppose the case in 2024.

The court found that the government had deliberately and unconstitutionally designed the SRD grant system to be exclusionary. The government's appeal against the judgment will now be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on 25 August 2026.

Currently, about nine million people are approved for the SRD grant; however, the outcome of the case could affect twice as many, including those excluded from accessing the SRD grant despite being approved.

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Maverick Citizen has been tracking the prices of 14 basic food items to be bought with the R370 SRD grant.

From May to June, Daily Maverick's food basket decreased by R5. This is due to flour, maize meal and white sugar costing slightly less, while cooking oil increased. At R414,86, the food basket is still R44.86...