Sassa sets four-month target to shut pay points
Grant beneficiaries to get paid electronically
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has set itself an ambitious target of eradicating all social grant pay points in just four months as it migrates beneficiaries to electronic payments.
In areas where there’s already infrastructure such as ATMs or a post office, Sassa will be closing pay points between now and September.
About 1.9 million grant recipients receive their monthly grants at pay points such as schools, public halls and community centres, especially in rural areas.
Sassa spokesman Paseka Letsatsi said: “Sassa is in the process of identifying and closing pay points where there is national payment infrastructure such as banks, ATMs and merchants. This process will be managed between June and September 2018.”
He said in areas such as Mokgwaneng, a rural Limpopo village, the post office would “deploy mobile payment infrastructure to service pay points”.
“The plan is also to provide commercial banks interested [with] an opportunity to provide mobile payment infrastructure.”
Pensioner Sophy Mahlangu, 85, lives in Mokgwaneng, a remote village in Limpopo about 40km from Marble Hall. The village neither has a post office nor a bank. Even shops are very few.
Mahlangu has never ever used a bank card before – just the thought of receiving her monthly pension grant electronically is nerve-wracking.
She has already heard “scary rumours” about looming changes.
“I’m nervous about the changes. I’m asking myself why are the changes necessary,” she said.
Mahlangu would like the present system of queueing at pay points to continue.
“I’ve never used a bank card in my life, I am very old for that,” she said.
Another pensioner from Mokgwaneng, Martha Mashiyane said: “We have no problems with the current system because we understand it.”
Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu has cancelled a tender for a service provider to carry out cash payments when Cash Paymaster Services’ contract came to an end in September.
In court papers filed before the Constitutional Court last week, Shabangu said their migration strategy would see a total of six million grant beneficiaries under electronic services.
“As the number of cash beneficiaries is reduced, the number of current Sassa cash pay points will also be reduced,” Shabangu said.
The Eastern Cape has the highest number of cash recipients at just under 500 000, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 478 000 and Limpopo with 383 000, according to figures Shabangu provided.
The country’s most urbanised provinces of Gauteng and Western Cape had just 196 000 and 107 000 respectively, with Northern Cape having just 59 000 cash recipients.
“The migration strategy will therefore channel the current cash beneficiaries to SAPO’s [South African Post Office’s] 856 branches, of which 396 are within a 5km radius from existing Sassa cash pay points,” Shabangu said.
As the number of cash beneficiaries is reduced, the number of current Sassa cash pay points will also be reduced
Susan Shabangu SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTER