19 March 2025
Queues at the SASSA office in Athlone, Cape Town, last year. The High Court has granted leave to appeal against its ruling on the Social Relief of Distress grant regulations. Archive photo: Marecia Damons
The High Court in Pretoria has granted the Department of Social Development, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the National Treasury leave to appeal against the January judgment on the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant regulations.
In October 2024, the #PayTheGrants campaign and the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) challenged the government’s SRD grant regulations, arguing that these rules exclude millions of potentially eligible people.
In January, Judge Leonard Twala ruled that regulations limiting access to the R370-a-month grant are unconstitutional and invalid. He also ordered the government to increase the grant amount and raise the income threshold to qualify.
Speaking to Parliament’s portfolio committee on social development earlier in March, advocate Luyanda Mtshotshisa, representing the DSD, told MPs that the government had appealed against the judgment “on the basis that the court judgment is flawed”.
In his order granting leave to appeal, Twala said, “Although I am satisfied that I have considered all the issues and arguments raised in this case in my main judgment, I am of the view that, due to the complexity and seriousness of this case which impacts on the most vulnerable and … almost 30% of the population, and the public interest that it raises, it deserves the attention of the Supreme Court of Appeal”.
Twala disagreed with the argument by #PaytheGrants and the IEJ that leave to appeal should only be granted for certain orders and not the whole judgment.
“That will cause unnecessary delays in bringing this case, which has profound implications on the poor and vulnerable members of the community, to finality. Put differently, I am of the view that the interests of justice will be better served if this case is heard by a Superior Court and in this instance, the Supreme Court of Appeal,” Twala said.
A date for the appeal hearing has yet to be set.