Before we publish a grant amount, pay date or rule, we check it against an official or trusted source and record the date. This page explains which sources we use, in what order, and what we do when we can’t confirm something.
Sources we use, in order
- SASSA itself: sassa.gov.za, srd.sassa.gov.za, SASSA media statements and comments from its national spokesperson.
- Government: gov.za, SAnews, the Department of Social Development, National Treasury budget documents and the Government Gazette.
- Established South African news outlets such as GroundUp, EWN, News24, Daily Maverick, Business Day, IOL, TimesLIVE and Sowetan, especially when they quote SASSA or official documents.
- Community posts on Facebook, Reddit and similar sites. We use these only to find problems people are facing, never as proof.
How we check
- We confirm pay dates and grant amounts in at least one official source or two independent news reports.
- We record the date of every check and show the last updated date on each page.
- We link to the source for important facts so you can check them yourself.
- We re-check our main pages every month, and on budget and mini-budget days.
When we can’t confirm something
Sometimes a number or rule is widely shared but we can’t find it in any official source. In that case we either leave it out, or we show it clearly labelled as unconfirmed with a warning. For example, our homepage lists WhatsApp numbers and USSD codes that circulate online and explains that SASSA hasn’t confirmed them.
What we won’t do
- Copy facts from other guide websites without checking them.
- Treat a single social media post as fact.
- Guess at future pay dates or increases before they are announced.
Spotted something wrong?
Tell us through the contact page and include a link to your source if you have one. We’ll check it and, if needed, correct the page and log the change on our corrections page.