Western Cape MEC for Social Development Jaco Londt has
called on the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) to take action and
resolve issues that gave rise to chaos and confusion that ensued at Postbank
black-card collection points in Cape Town this week.
On 7 February Sassa and Postbank announced beneficiaries had
until 28 February to switch to new Postbank Black cards, for from 1 March 2025
they will no longer be able to access their Sassa grant payments with their
gold cards.
At two collection points in the northern suburbs, Usave
Bellville and Checkers Hyper Parow, thousands of elderly and disabled waited in
lines for up to 12 hours and longer in the rush to meet the deadline for the
switch-over.
On Tuesday pensioners started queuing outside collection
points as early as 04:00, only to reach the middle of the line by 17:00, when
the offices close. Heartbreaking scenes ensued as hundreds of elderly were sent
home, only to come back on Wednesday to face the same chaos.
Leandri Wilders accompanied her 78-year-old mother to
Checkers Hyper Parow on Tuesday, arriving at 04:30, and by 16:00 they were
still number 78 in the queue.
“There must have been about 150 people left in the row by
that time, all sent home at the end of the day,” she said.
She described the process as a total mess.
“There is no ventilation in the waiting area, with the sweat
pouring off the old people, who were confused and anxious to be helped before
the deadline. There were only three Postbank officials at the table, and it
took about 20 minutes to help one person. The elderly were treated without
respect and the process was tedious. What will happen if half the country’s
pensioners can’t draw their Sassa money by the end of the month?”
Another pensioner, from Delft, said she had to travel to
Parow on Tuesday and Wednesday to be helped, costing her R100 in taxi fare,
which she cannot afford.
Another elderly man said he arrived at Parow Hyper at 06:00
on Tuesday and by 17:00 everyone was told to go home.
“It is very upsetting and unfair to be treated like this
after contributing our whole lives to building this country. What is the
government doing? It’s a big problem.”
In a statement to the media Londt said there were flaws in
the process, such as a lack of sites for the replacement of cards.
“Although the Sassa is a national entity and the Western
Cape Government has no mandate over it, we have continued to be inundated with
queries and complaints from grant beneficiaries across the province.
“We are doing this for vulnerable residents who are
dependent on these grants, and who simply cannot afford a situation where they
are unable to access their funds.
“Vulnerable residents cannot be ignored. As the Western Cape
Government we will continue applying pressure on Sassa and Postbank to do right
by their clients, who depend on these grants for their survival.”
The DA further called on Sassa to extend all gold cards
until every social grant beneficiary in need of a Postbank black card has
received one.
“The DA has been inundated with concerns and complaints from
Sassa grant recipients struggling to switch to the Postbank black card and is
worried they may not receive their grants,” said Alexandra Abrahams, DA
spokesperson on social development.
“This is not a new crisis. The switch from Sassa gold cards
to Postbank black cards has been a continuous project with multiple extensions
of the gold cards. It is therefore concerning that despite the continued calls
for and granting of extensions, Sassa seems to have learnt no lessons in
navigating this crisis of their own making.”
Abrahams said Sassa had established only 12 collection sites
in the whole of the Western Cape.
“Nationwide, there have been few to none home visits to
assist these beneficiaries with mobility or other issues. And beneficiaries
have been sent from pillar to post, with very little assistance, guidance or
correct information from Sassa or the Postbank. In fact, the DA has been
advising Sassa beneficiaries to switch to reputable banks to receive their
funds and alleviate the strain on the Postbank, but even this has been fumbled
by Sassa.”
Sassa has reportedly been unable to deal with the number of
requests to switch to reliable banks. This failure has resulted in a backlog
that Sassa seems unable to deal with and which are forcing grant beneficiaries
to continue to use either their soon-to-be expired Sassa gold cards or attempt
the switch to Postbank black cards.
Abrahams added that an extension to the deadline will
provide Sassa an opportunity to capture and process this backlog.
“This situation should have been anticipated, negotiated,
and resolved long before the middle of the month in which the cards are set to
expire. Sassa is dropping the ball, while the vulnerable and poor people who
rely on social grants for survival are suffering.”
