Social security agency needs more staff, says DA

The Democratic Alliance (DA) wants the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) to extend its office hours, to put an end to long waiting times and an imminent “humanitarian implosion”.

The party’s spokeswoman for social development, Bridget Masango, says Sassa has fully trained employees, sitting at home earning a full salary while the crisis unfolds.

“Over the past week, we have heard shocking accounts of people queueing outside Sassa offices for days at a time, without being seen, never mind helped.

“Vulnerable South Africans are spending nights on the streets outside Sassa offices in the hopes of receiving help for the dire situations at their homes.

“The majority are returning home without hope of means to support themselves or their families,” she said.

The inability to provide social grants, Masango said, was a sign that current plans are not working.

“The fact that only 10 people have received the special Covid-19 social relief of distress grant of R350 is another indication that the limited staff compliment and working hours is [sic] unfeasible.

“Clearly, the limited numbers of Sassa staff cannot cope with the magnitude of people needing help in the limited hours per day they are on duty which severely impairs Sassa’s ability to provide basic front-line services to the public,” she said.

The party has also said government was missing many opportunities to save jobs in the hard-hit tourism sector. The DA is preparing a scientific and statistically driven alternative tourism plan, with the objective of minimising further damage and job losses within the sector. This, it says, will be presented to government. “Certain subsectors within the tourism and travel sector can immediately open up due to its nature, which already respects social distancing.

“These include, amongst others, self-catering accommodation and country accommodation which have isolated and self-contained units,” said Manny de Freitas, the DA tourism spokesman.

He said government’s tourism recovery plan had been drawn up in isolation, without taking into account and speaking to the various lockdown levels.

“It arbitrarily foresees the revival of tourism in only 12 months’ time, while also labelling the next six months as a ‘readiness’ period, thus ignoring the realities on the ground.

“The tourism sector simply cannot wait to fit in with an illogical and ill-conceived one-dimensional government plan.”

Only 10 people have received R350 distress grant