A BEDRIDDEN ouma from Wellington is one of the over a million mense who missed today's SASSA card swop deadline.
In a chaotic migration process in which social grant beneficiaries have had to change their expiring Sassa gold card to the Postbank black card or move to a bank of their choice, the vulnerable around South Africa been met with endless frustration.
Poor communication and service from SASSA and Postbank have been a constant theme during the transition period.
Nicolet van der Westhuizen explains that she has been sukkeling to get SASSA officials to come out and help her 71-year-old mother Angeline Johannes who is bedridden with severe arthritis as she was unaware that the process needs to be done through Postbank.
She explains: “On 16 February I added my mother's name to the list for home visits to get her black card but nobody has come out yet. My mother can’t leave the house at all.
“We got a contact for a man named Basil, apparently he works for SASSA, he has been promising for two weeks to come out but he never shows up.
“I tried going to the bank to open a bank account on her behalf but was unsuccessful.”
Shivani Wahab, Director-Marketing and Communication for SASSA Western Cape, said the aspect of home visits for those who are unable to physically do the switch over is the responsibility of Postbank.
Wahad says: “For beneficiaries who are unable to access a card migration site due to old age or based on health reasons, SASSA is assisting by collating details of these beneficiaries and sharing information with Postbank.”
Postbank spokesperson Bongani Diako said home visits are available only for qualifying beneficiaries, and every request is assessed on its merits applying strict criteria.
He explains: “Home visits are being made to enable beneficiaries that are not able to physically get to the Postbank card replacement sites to replace their cards. SASSA and Postbank teams attend to beneficiaries from their places of residence, such as residential homes and nursing homes, and provide them grant access enablement services to ensure that no one is left behind.
“A card will not be issued to the incapacitated beneficiary. They will be assisted to nominate a trusted individual to give authority over their account by signing a Postbank Account Access Authority letter.”
During a home visit a beneficiary is expected to be physically present during the visit and both parties are to have with them their ID Documentation. The bedridden or incapacitated beneficiary will be verified via fingerprint verification.
Shivani said that she will share the beneficiaries details with the Customer Care Unit for them to establish contact and arrange for a home visit through Postbank.
Bookings for home visits need to be made beforehand and can be made directly through:
- SASSA at any SASSA local offices
- Telephonically through the SASSA Customer Care Centre on 0800 60 10 11, or the Postbank Call Centre on 0800 53 54 55.
- The beneficiary ID number will be used as a reference for any further enquiries.
- Those you have not met the deadline to swop their cards are urged to do so by June.