Black Sash Urges 14-Year Olds to Register for Grants

Black Sash, a social and human rights NGO, has urged 14-year-olds who need financial support to apply for grants before the school year gets underway.

In a press statement, Black Sash reminded vulnerable youngsters that they could apply for the child support grant even if they did not have an identity document or birth certificate. It says children are also entitled to receive Social Relief of Distress while they wait for their approved application to be processed.

The extension of the R230 Child Support Grant to needy 14-year-olds, which came into effect on 1 January 2009, means the beneficiaries have now "fallen off" the South African Social Security Agency's (SASSA) computer system.

Meanwhile, Social Development spokesperson, Zanele Mngadi, said that the department had not put a deadline in place for grant applications.

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