News & Updates

Court rulings, portal outages, scam alerts, and policy shifts that change how South Africans get paid.

Live
USD / ZARLoading…
All
SASSA
Education
Business
Agriculture
Policy
SRD Outage

SASSA SRD Portal Down Since Friday: 'It Works!' Page Signals Extended Maintenance

The official SASSA SRD portal at srd.sassa.gov.za was offline from Friday 28 August 2026, showing only a bare "It works!" default page. What the outage means for status checks, payment dates, and what SRD applicants should do while the site is under maintenance.

Fact Check

Is the R370 SRD Grant Coming to an End? The Truth Behind the Viral Facebook Posts About the High Court Case

Facebook and WhatsApp posts claiming the R370 SRD grant is ending because of a high court case are wrong. The ruling would expand the grant and lift the amount toward R450, not scrap it. Here is what the ruling says, why the confusion spread, and how to spot the scam links.

SASSA

Postbank Gold Card Final Swap Deadline: Q3 2026 Enforcement Kicks In

Postbank has moved from voluntary swap to Q3 2026 enforcement. Around 310,000 SASSA beneficiaries still holding Gold Cards face card blocks from October. Here is the enforcement timeline, the queues in each province, and how to swap in 10 minutes.

Policy

Two-Pot Retirement 2026 Mid-Year: Withdrawals, Tax and Mistakes

Two-pot retirement mid-year 2026 update: R2,000 minimum, R30,000 second-year withdrawal cap explained, SARS tax deduction rates, the three most common mistakes, and what to do before 29 February 2028.

Policy

Home Affairs Smart ID at Banks 2026: Full Branch List and Booking Guide

Home Affairs has expanded the bank branch smart ID and passport service to 428 branches nationwide across Standard Bank, FNB, ABSA, Nedbank, Discovery and Investec. Fees, wait times, booking, and how to avoid the eHomeAffairs errors that kill most first-time applications.

Agriculture

CASP 2026 Mid-Year: Why 3 in 5 Approved Farmers Never Reach Tranche 2

CASP funded 6,412 smallholders in the 2026 first tranche. Only about 2 in 5 will draw the second. The reason is not fraud, it is a compliance report that most farmers do not know exists. Here is the mid-year picture and the five items on that report.

Education

NSFAS 2027 Applications Open: What Changed for First-Year and Continuing Students

NSFAS 2027 applications open 1 September 2026. Here is what changed for first-time applicants and continuing students, the new N+2 rule for TVET, and the documents you should collect before the portal goes live.

Education

NYDA Grant Mid-Year 2026: R450 Million Voucher Round for Youth SMMEs

The NYDA Grant Programme mid-year voucher round opened 30 June 2026 with R450 million to allocate. Here is the R1,000 to R250,000 tier structure, who qualifies, and the mentorship condition that trips up most first-time applicants.

Business

SEDFA Is Now Live: How the SEFA + SEDA Merger Changes Your SMME Funding Application in 2026

SEFA, SEDA and CBDA merged to create SEDFA on 1 October 2024. By 2026 the consolidation is reshaping how SMMEs apply for funding. Here is what changed, where to apply now, and the funding products most South African small businesses are missing.

Policy

Livelihoods Grant Comment Closed: What 8 Million SRD Recipients Need to Do Before March 2027

Public comment on the Livelihoods Support Grant closed on 30 April 2026. The R370 SRD funds 8 million people but ends in March 2027. Here is what is likely in the final design and a checklist of what beneficiaries should do now to stay eligible.

SASSA

SASSA SRD Portal Overloaded? Why You See 'Too Many Requests' and 4 Ways to Check Your Status Anyway

Seeing 'The system has received too many requests from your connection' on the SASSA SRD portal? Here is why it happens on busy days and four reliable alternative ways to check your status, including grantZA, GovChat, WhatsApp and USSD.

SASSA

Postbank Migration Deadline: 800,000 Beneficiaries Still Without New Cards

800,000 SASSA beneficiaries still need to swap Gold Cards before 31 December 2026. Processing centres cannot keep up. Here is the province-by-province backlog and what to do now.