Tens of thousands of families face a bleak Christmas after the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) failed to pay out the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.
Many R350 grant beneficiaries said they had been waiting for payments since the beginning of December, but they have yet to be successful.
“I can’t believe that Sassa is doing this to us. Daily, I have received close to 200 complaints from beneficiaries whose applications have been approved but have yet to receive the money. Most beneficiaries will have a black Christmas,” said a #PayTheGrants co-ordinator, Elizabeth Raiters.
Raiters said co-ordinators across the country were dealing with similar volumes of complaints.
#PayTheGrants is a national campaign to implement the universal basic income grant (UBIG).
Raiters accused the government of “failing and ignoring the poor” and not seeking solutions to the technical and administrative problems that continue to test the payment of grants.
A Philippi beneficiary who did not want to be named said she has turned away on December 21 at one of the retailers because they claimed there was no money in “her card”.
They told her to return the following week “to try again”, only at a specific time.
“Hunger does not wait that long. My daughter and I will not have food for Christmas,” she said.
Raiters said other complaints raised by beneficiaries were delays caused by Sassa in making decisions on applications.
“A majority of people complained that their applications were still pending approval. And now they have missed the two payment cycles for the month. The next thing Sassa will do is to press the decline button – it has become their default response.”
Some of the SRD grant beneficiaries are still waiting for payments from as far back as April and May. Their hopes were dashed as they thought they would receive the payments this month.
“I don't know when the penny will drop with the officials that the level of hunger among the poor has risen. While the grant may be regarded as too little, it continues to be the only income lifeline for poor and unemployed people,” added Raiters.
Approximately 11 million people rely on the SRD grant to buy the most basic of necessities to assist with their survival. At his medium-term budget policy statement, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the grant for unemployed adults would run until the end of March 2024 but this extension has meant little for those who are still waiting.
The Department of Social Development contracts Postbank for the payment of grants after a failed contract with the South African Post Office.
Some beneficiaries receive their grants through the traditional financial institutions, while others receive them through Postbank.
However, according to another #PayTheGrants co-ordinator, Nathan Taylor, it appeared that there were no clear rules between Postbank and retailers guiding the payment of the grants, particularly with the Postbank cards.
Postbank explained that all Sassa beneficiaries with Postbank gold cards were able to access their funds through retailers and ATMs.
However, the ATM payments were suspended and the beneficiaries were forced to access their grants at retailers because of a card-related fraud threat.
Postbank’s spokesperson, Dr Bongani Diako, said the company had paid all the money into the beneficiaries’ accounts.
“Following interventions from cybercrime experts and controls put in place, we envisage that the access to funds via ATMs will be available in the oncoming payments period,” said Diako.
Taylor said some retailers put a limit on the amount that they could dispense. Many beneficiaries complained that even if they had proof with pay dates, they were being told that the transaction had been declined or there was no money in their account.
“The technical problems need to be resolved soon as they are causing hardship to people,“ Taylor said.
Sassa denied that it had not paid the grants.
“Sassa is up to date with all payments that it can make. December payments were processed for all applicants who qualified and whose payment details are up to date. Every month Sassa re-runs the previous month payments,“ said spokesperson Moabi Pitsi.
However, Raiters said Sassa refused to take accountability for the failures.
“If the payments and approvals were smooth, beneficiaries would not complain. They have to take accountability and work on finding solutions that will treat beneficiaries with dignity,” Raiters said.
Weekend Argus