The Western Cape MEC for Social Development, Jaco Londt, has urged a reassessment of the timeline for switching from South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) cards to Postbank cards.

On February 7, Sassa and Postbank announced an urgent call to social grant beneficiaries to replace their Sassa gold cards with Postbank black cards.

The deadline for the switch is February 28.

From March 1, grant beneficiaries will be unable to access their Sassa grant payments with their gold cards.

Londt also disapproved of Sassa and Postbank advising people to visit their “nearest Postbank site, which is mainly located at one of the retailers near you that include Checkers, Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Usave, and Boxer”.

“But since this announcement, the Western Cape Government has received numerous queries and complaints from across the province about the uncertainty of this migration. We have also had reports of chaotic scenes in certain areas like Drakenstein, where grant beneficiaries flocked to Postbank to get their new card, but the office was apparently not operational,” Londt said.

He said his office also tried the contact details provided to beneficiaries.

“My office and I have also tried the different contact details provided in the Sassa and Postbank media statement:

- Postbank: 0800 53 54 55

- Sassa: 0800 60 10 11

- Dial: *120*218*3# and follow the prompts

“What we have found is very disheartening. The Postbank number is not functional as the call was dropped, and the Sassa number redirects one to reach out via Whatsapp. On Whatsapp, there is no option to enquire about the card migration process,” he said.

Londt said when following the prompts it gave a list of all the sites in the Western Cape where people can get their black cards:

Boxer Langa
Boxer Philippi
Boxer Mitchells Plain
Checkers Hyper Parow
Usave Bellville
Shoprite Bayside Mall
Shoprite Eerste River
Shoprite Khayelitsha CBD
Shoprite Gugulethu
Shoprite Adderley Street
Shoprite Thembalethu
Shoprite George

“Most of these sites are in the Cape Town Metro, and only two are outside the city, in George. This is unacceptable because it leaves thousands of grant beneficiaries living in rural areas in the Western Cape without accessible options,” Londt said.

He said while he knows grants can be paid into a beneficiaries’ bank account, which they can access with their regular banks, they have heard from clients, like elderly residents or those living in abject poverty how they prefer using their Sassa gold cards for various reasons.

Londt urged the Sassa, Postbank, and the National Department of Social Development to find an urgent solution to ensure grant beneficiaries living in rural areas are also accommodated in the card transitioning process. He said more service points needed to be established and until that happens, the deadline for the expiration of the Sassa gold cards should be extended.

“I have already raised these concerns with the Western Cape Sassa management and will escalate them at the MINMEC meeting with the National Minister of Social Development and provincial MECs next week,” Londt said.

robin.francke@iol.co.za

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