Cape Town - Khayelitsha and Gugulethu are tipped to have new offices constructed to cater for the high number of people requiring the services of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).
This was according to Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu when responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Alexandra Abrahams.
Abrahams enquired whether Sassa intended to establish more offices and increase staff capacity within the Western Cape in order to keep up with increased demand.
She said the Stats SA mid-year population estimates showed that provinces such as Gauteng and Western Cape have the highest provincial in-migration numbers, while provinces such as Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal have the highest provincial out-migration numbers.
Abrahams also enquired whether Sassa intended to reinstate the regular usage of community halls and civic centres within the Western Cape to service its clients.
In her written reply, Zulu said Sassa was busy with a process to establish four additional offices in the province.
“Procurement Instructions have been issued to the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure for the establishment of these offices, which are two in Khayelitsha and two in Gugulethu.
“These areas have been prioritised as a result of the high number of applicants in these areas,” she said.
The minister said the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) had signed one lease for an office in Khayelitsha.
“The lessor will be constructing a new building for Sassa. The other three sites received non-responsive bids and national DPWI will have to go out on tender for these areas specifically once again.”
Zulu stated that the staff establishment would be reconsidered once the outcome of the business process re-engineering exercise, which was underway, was concluded.
The exercise was to consider the current organisational structure and review staff capacity in order to ensure that Sassa can deliver on its mandate.
However, Zulu said it should be borne in mind that the government was on a drive to contain the structure and not to grow it.
“This has been one of the considerations in the decision to automate many of the processes for grant applications and reviews.
“The automation should reduce the need for people to report in person at Sassa offices, but to ensure that the face to face channel is available for those who do not have access to the internet for online processes, or otherwise require the interaction with a staff member.”
Zulu said Sassa in the Western Cape was in the process of securing funding for the opening of 102 sites linked to community halls and civic centres.
“The procurement process will be initiated once the funding has been sourced,” she said.
Cape Times