By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa’s social grant system, hit a snag in January as over 150,000 beneficiaries encountered delays in receiving their payments.
Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi blamed the latest payment glitch affecting the hard-hit grant recipients on “verification delays”.
“We are aware of non-payments, and this is a result of bank verifications, meaning that the details provided to us do not perfectly match or correspond to the ones registered in the bank. For example, you may find that a name has been misspelt or a letter is missing.”
Letsatsi said the agency undertakes a verification process of banking details, names, addresses and ID numbers every month to prevent fraud.
He said that the relocation of beneficiaries impacted by devastating floods which impacted various parts of the country over the festive season might have contributed to in the payment delay.
“If people change their address, they must inform us,” Letsatsi urged.
He also urged beneficiaries to visit their nearest Sassa branch office to verify their details so they can access their grant.
In September last year, another glitch left thousands of beneficiaries without payment for weeks.
DA Shadow Minister of Social Development Bridget Masango says the government should ensure that the payments are made as some beneficiaries depend on it.
“For many mothers, the Child Support Grant is their only income, and Sassa’s payment failure places additional strain on them at the start of the school year when they have to purchase school uniforms and shoes.”
“The DA has been inundated with concerns from beneficiaries that they might have to reapply and be without their funds for months.”
Sassa has been in the spotlight over the past two years for a string of damning failures within its payment system, as well as allegations of fraud and corruption by officials.