Pretoria: Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe has invited the public and interested parties to comment on the amendments to the regulations relating to the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.

According to South African Government News Agency, the current iteration of the COVID-19 SRD grant comes to an end on 31 March 2026. During the State of the Nation Address (SONA) last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the provision will be extended for 12 months from 01 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

Following the official pronouncement of the extension, the Minister of Social Development is required to operationalize the extension through publication of the Amendments to the COVID-19 SRD Regulations in the Government Gazette before 31 March 2026.

‘The aim of these amendments is to regularize the 12-month extension of the provision from 01 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. This means the monthly amount of the R370 of the provision will be paid to successful applicants from the period, 01 April 2026 until March 2027,’ the department said.

Written comments on the draft amendments to the Regulations must be submitted within 21 days from the date of publication, which is 11 February 2026.