Sassa picketed over social grant fears
‘We want clarity on what’s going to happen; are people going to get paid?’
SOCIAL grant beneficiaries fear they will not be getting their payment next month due to the pending social grants crisis. Yesterday, the beneficiaries held pickets outside various SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) payout points across the province calling for swift action on the ongoing payment distributor saga. The pickets were organised by Right2Know (R2K) in Delft, Khayelitsha, Tafelsig and Eastridge.
Ann October, 60, from Mitchells Plain, said the government should prioritise social grants.
“We want clarity on what’s going to happen come April 1; are people going to get paid? A Sassa grant is not a present that they give to people. It is money that belongs to taxpayers. We worked long and hard contributing to this tax. They must ensure that we get that money on time,” said October.
Other Mitchells Plain beneficiaries called for Sassa to hand the payment distribution contract to Postbank.
Kim Hossain, 35, an unemployed mother of two, said there was a lot of corruption and illegal deductions were made on the accounts of beneficiaries. “They deduct money and say you made loans when you didn’t. They must go back to the Postbank system – there was no fraud or corruption.”
Alvina Fisher, 28, said that since September she had been receiving less than half the child grant payment due to her. “They pay me R100 to R150, the maximum. This Cash Paymaster Service (CPS) has messed things up for us,” she said.
A statement issued by R2K said the organisation was shocked to hear at the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) hearing in Parliament last week that Sassa had no clear plan to ensure the continued payment of grants to more than 17 million beneficiaries.
“We are extremely concerned about reports that CPS is renegotiating on the terms of the contract and that the extension might cost the taxpayers even more than it has over the past years.
“We are appalled about the fact that there is no clarity and certainty that the grant will be paid to the 17 million people, and this is the government’s claim to social relief for the poor,” it said.
The Centre for Child law also raised its concern in a statement: “It is regrettable that due to inaction on the part of Sassa, the date is looming and there is a real risk that there will be an interruption in the payment of grants.
“Social assistance grants are a lifeline for millions of children in South Africa. The need for social assistance grants is highlighted by the fact that six out of 10 children in South Africa live below the poverty line.”