Last month I wrote an article about the replacement of SASSA Gold cards that were expiring in March 2023.
I based my article on a press release issued by SASSA which called on social grants recipients using the SASSA cards that were expiring in March 2023 (03/2023) to go and collect their new SASSA Gold cards at their nearest post office branch starting from Monday 13 March 2023.
It stated that only people with SASSA Gold cards expiring in March 2023 could collect new cards at the South African Post Office.
Grants recipients, who have cards that were not expiring during March 2023, were advised not to go to collect new cards at the post office during March.
The dates for collection of replacement cards for March were announced as follows:
– Mondays and Tuesdays, starting from Monday 13 March 2023, would be dedicated to the issuance of the cards to the Old Age Grants recipients and persons that receive Disability Grants.
– Wednesday to Saturday, starting from Wednesday 15 March 2023, would be dedicated to the collection of new SASSA Gold cards to recipients whose cards expire in March 2023 at any post office branch nationwide by persons receiving Child Support Grants and persons receiving all other grants.
When these things are put down on paper, it seems so easy. It almost makes you believe that SASSA and have a fully functioning, working system.
Sadly, once again it seems for many grant recipients, SASSA’s press releases aren’t worth the paper they are written on. The problems just never cease to end. Whether it be for the replacement of cards or any other services – there always seems to be a problem.
In a media release issued last week, Western Cape MEC of Social Development Sharna Fernandez said that in February she met with SASSA management to discuss a laundry list of problems which she and her team picked up during oversight visits at SASSA offices across the province, and from the numerous complaints their office received from grant beneficiaries.
Last week, MEC Fernandez had a follow-up meeting with SASSA Western Cape management, with more issues on the agenda, especially given the chaos they witnessed in Grassy Park.
MEC Fernandez said: “SASSA has informed beneficiaries who are using issued Gold cards, which expire soon, to either replace the card at identified South African Post Office (SAPO) branches or alternative venues provided by , or participating retailers. The other option is to do cardless withdrawals.
“But with many SAPO branches closed and a lack of communication about alternative venues, scores of beneficiaries are in limbo, as we’ve seen this week.
“The City of Cape Town graciously opened the Grassy Park Civic Centre for the post office’s use for a limited time.
“Grant beneficiaries who found no joy at SAPO service points in other areas were apparently sent to Grassy Park Civic Centre, which exacerbated the situation, leading to even longer queues for the most vulnerable members of our society.
“I have implored SASSA officials to find an urgent solution to assist beneficiaries living in areas where post office service points are closed, and who may not want to go the cardless withdrawal route.
“The SASSA officials have assured us this will receive their urgent attention, and we will hold them to it.
“SASSA has also outlined a mitigation plan to deal with the gold card replacement situation, as the majority of the 5.9 million beneficiaries in the country (396 903 of which reside in the Western Cape) who have these cards will need to replace them by June 2023.
“This includes dedicated queues for card replacements, additional staff, and extended operational hours.
“While this may look good in theory, SASSA needs to show its commitment to improving services by implementing its plan expeditiously.
“Among the issues we raised with SASSA:
– Challenges with SAPO and;
– Winter Readiness and Loadshedding Mitigation;
– Disability grants Backlog and the number of medical doctors conducting assessments;
– Pay points across the province.
“Communication between SASSA and beneficiaries needs to improve, and drastically, especially around the gold card replacement issue.
“There are elderly beneficiaries, those with disabilities, those living in far-flung rural areas, who may have no idea how to go about doing cardless cash withdrawals and are now panicking because they do not know where to replace their cards.
“There seems to be a huge disconnect between SASSA, SAPO, and, an issue which requires urgent attention on a national level.
“I once again call on the national minister of social development, Lindiwe Zulu, as I have been doing continuously for nearly a year, to do her part to assist the most vulnerable.”
It truly breaks my heart that those who are most in need of financial assistance, continue to get the short end of the stick when it comes to the department in government tasked with seeing to their needs.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za