They deserve a lot better

THOUSANDS of social grant recipients will hope that this week will bring better tidings regarding their monthly payments. Last week many of these beneficiaries – the people whose monthly grants are their only means of survival – were left in the lurch when they couldn’t get their money paid out to them.

The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) is mandated by law to pay social grants to more than 17 million recipients to ease their plight. To the recipients, the payments – R400 for child support, R960 for foster care, R1 690 for old age and disability, and R1 710 for war veterans – can mean the difference between hunger and a plate of food on the table.

It is often said that successful democracies are judged by how they treat their most vulnerable members of society – in this case, the indigent.

Last week many households were plunged into crisis when grant recipients couldn’t access their money. Sassa officials have attributed the problem to technical glitches.

While officials have apologised, it was obvious Sassa had been ill-prepared for the processing of the beneficiaries onto a new system. Under the system, beneficiaries’ old Cash Paymaster Services cards were replaced by new SA Post Office cards. Recipients were left waiting for hours for nothing.

It was heartbreaking to witness how some of society’s most vulnerable, the old and the poor, had to return home without being paid. Some had arrived in wheelchairs. Many used their last money to get to pay points, while others who had no money had no choice but to walk.

No self-respecting country does this to its own people, and no amount of explaining will undo what has happened. We hope lessons have been learnt and that the officials will ensure a repeat is avoided.

Last week’s chaotic situation had its genesis in court confrontations that had dragged on for ages. This is a matter that must be placed at the door of former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini, who is still a cabinet member. She left the current minister, Susan Shabangu, a poisoned chalice. Shabangu has her work cut out to regain the confidence of our people.

Sassa is one of those government entities where mediocrity, and many times downright laziness, have become the order of the day. A number of public servants must be educated that the taxpayers of this country pay their salaries, and their job is to serve.