SASSA pays 26-million grants every month By Daniel Steyn The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) spent R232-billion on social grants in 2022 - about 11% of the national budget. Social grant spending, when adjusted for inflation, has quadrupled since 1994. The vast majority of beneficiaries receive either the Child Support Grant or Old Age Grant. Grant amounts are about the...

Albert Street fire tragedy sparks renewed attempt to evict hundreds of people living in derelict downtown buildings By Kimberly Mutandiro Owners of a number of “dark buildings” in downtown Johannesburg have been trying to evict hundreds of people occupying their properties for more than a decade. In the aftermath of the fire at 80 Albert Street that killed 77 people, the...

The short answer The Director-General of Home Affairs can issue an order that will allow a foreign ex-spouse who applies for a visitor’s or relative’s visa to stay in the country. The long answer There was a recent case (June 2022) brought to the Western Cape High Court by several foreign ex-spouses wanting to stay in South Africa as they were contributing to their...

The short answer You can submit a dispute of the deduction to SASSA The whole question Dear Grethen There is a life insurance company that has been deducting money from my SASSA child grant, but I never consented to this. How can I stop this? Can I get my money back? The long answer This is an unfortunate and long-standing problem. GroundUp wrote about this issue...

As the November 2023 deadline looms, 70% of public schools still don’t have libraries By Tatiana Kazim On 30 August, the Right to Read campaign was launched at the Women’s Jail in Johannesburg. The campaign brings together several organisations, including the Legal Resources Centre, the Centre for Child Law, SECTION27, Equal Education (EE), and Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) to mobilise civil...

The proposed warning labels will clearly indicate when food is high in sugar, salt and fat or contains artificial sweeteners, but the sugar industry has warned against “demonising sugar” By Mary-Anne Gontsana Health activists at Community Media Trust and the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) have collected and submitted over 12,000 submissions on the health department’s draft Regulations Relating to the Labelling...

The bill has been sent back to be revised after the state’s legal advisors flagged serious shortfalls By Chris Gilili Sex workers and activists marched to the Department of Justice in Pretoria on Thursday. They were demanding that government fast-track and finalise a bill to decriminalise sex work. The draft bill is being revised after the state’s legal advisors flagged serious...

For people who receive a grant or need to receive one. By Gabrielle Kelly and GroundUp Staff This is an overview of South Africa’s social grant system and how to apply for social assistance. GroundUp updates this article regularly. This page was originally published on 6 March 2013. It is currently being updated (7 March 2023). (Please note that GroundUp is not affiliated with the Government...

“The holding of political office and remaining registered as a medical practitioner are not mutually exclusive” says judge By Tania Broughton Last year in a widely circulated video, Limpopo Health MEC Dr Pophi Ramathuba told a hospitalised Zimbabwean patient: “You are killing my health system. It’s unfair.” A preliminary committee of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) found that...

Ruling on the display of the flag in private homes to be determined at another hearing, if brought before a court By Tania Broughton The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ruled that displaying the old South African flag is hate speech, unfair discrimination on the basis of race, and harassment, upholding an Equality Court ruling. The SCA however amended the...