Net1 promises probe into grant deductions
Mother of four could not afford school jerseys with the R70 she received
NONTLAHLA NXUZA was crying loudly at a social grant pay-point in Bizana in the Eastern Cape after she received only R70 of her R350 child support grant last week.
This was the second time that R80 electricity and R200 airtime has been deducted from her grant money.
After the Cape Times interviewed the 32-year-old mother of four children, she went to Net1 Ueps Technologies Inc officials, the parent company of Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) which disburses social grants, to lay a complaint. Net1 has been at the centre of a legal dispute over whether it can lawfully make deductions from grant payments for micro loans‚ airtime and other financial services.
For almost two hours, with Net1 officials making phone calls trying to verify what had happened, Nxuza was told her matter would be investigated.
Nxuza was supposed to buy three of her children school jerseys, but could not with the R70 she received.
Nxuza said she never bought the airtime nor the electricity deducted from her money.
Others standing in line also had the same issue.
Ntombi Mbexo, 66, said she has desperately tried to stop the electricity and airtime deductions but was unsuccessful.
“It is surprising the deductions went through again. I have tried to stop them but unsuccessfully. Someone at Net1 is taking money meant (for) the poor,” said Nxuza.
Net1 chief financial officer Herman Kotze took dozens of journalists to Bizana, one of the busiest pay-points, to interact with beneficiaries and respond to the challenges last week.
Kotze denied beneficiaries’ personal information has been shared with third parties to make transactions on their accounts.
He said Net1 would, in the next few days, reveal an internal ombudsman who will deal with the complaints.
“We (have) received many complaints from people saying airtime and electricity has been debited or deducted from their grants.
“Every complainant is investigated according to its merits and, when we find irregularities, we refund,” Kotze said.
The trip to Bizana was sponsored by Net1. Cape Times reporter Sandiso Phaliso covered the media tour.