Cape Town - 120402 - There was chaos at the Athlone Civic Centre as pensioners tried to get their grant. There were reports of overcrowding, insufficient staff & broken machines. The Cape Argus Team was denied entry to the centre by Fidelity security guards. Pictured is a SASSA debit card. Reporter: Daneel Knoetze Picture: David Ritchie
Johannesburg - Postbank, which was affected by technical glitches that resulted in delays in the payment of social grants, has indicated that it has cleared the payment backlog that has caused strain between itself and grant beneficiaries.
In a statement yesterday, the bank assured all those who were affected that its system issues had been resolved.
“Postbank wishes to provide Sassa beneficiaries and the public with the assurance that, according to our records, all outstanding Sassa grant payments to recipients that were impacted by the systems incident of September 5th and 6th have been made,” it said.
This is as the South African Human Rights Commission (SARHC) confirmed that it had received complaints made by the DA about this month’s delayed payment by Postbank and the Department of Social Development’s social grants, which affected thousands of recipients.
Yesterday, members of the DA, led by shadow minister of social development Bridget Masango, lodged a complaint with the Commission against Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, the Department of Social Development, the South African Social Security Agency, and Postbank, who all have to take the blame for the recent debacle.
Masango had earlier attributed the fiasco to the government’s failure to do its job.
SAHRC spokesperson Wisani Baloyi said the commission will assess the complaint brought before it by the DA.
“The SAHRC can confirm that it received a complaint from the DA regarding issues of delayed payments in terms of social services. The commission will assess the complaint in line with the complaints handling procedure, and we’ll try to get in touch with the Department of Social Development and update the DA as well in terms of the process, in line with the complaints handling procedures of the commission,” Baloyi said.
Masango said the party had acted in the interest of the affected beneficiaries as a way to address the recurring crisis surrounding the disbursement of Sassa grants.
“Our complaint to the SAHRC is founded on the bedrock principles enshrined in the South African Constitution, which unequivocally protect the rights and dignity of every citizen. In a step towards addressing the persistent crisis surrounding the disbursement of Sassa grants, the DA has lodged a formal complaint with the SAHRC following the dire and systemic failures that have left the most vulnerable members of our society in a state of distress,” Masango said.
She said the party hopes for the matter to be taken up to ensure that this crisis does not happen again.
“We are hoping for a ruling that says Sassa or the department makes sure that the people they work with—their service providers, their partners — have the capacity to do the work they're supposed to, and they will ensure way before the payment of grants that everything is in place,” Masango added.
Last week, the minister apologised to grant beneficiaries who were unable to access their money in September when she told Parliament’s portfolio committee that the technical glitches experienced in the system were beyond her department’s control.
Zulu acknowledged that the non-payment of grants was affecting livelihoods and eroding public trust in the system.
The Star
Related Topics: