Sassa brings to mind an old Cape Flats saying: “Ek hettie meer taal’ie.” It means, “I have no more words”.
And truly, this is one government agency that often leaves me speechless!
We all know about the shocking treatment and service the most vulnerable in society receive from Sassa, but what has come to light recently makes my blood boil.
In a recent parliamentary response from Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, to a question from DA MP Gizella Opperman, it was found that 3 268 public servants received government grants they did not qualify for and that criminal referrals have so far only been made against 887.
But that isn’t the icing on the cake – Sassa has said that it will first investigate the feasibility of recovering debt from the non-public servants who fraudulently and illegally benefitted from grants.
They aren’t going after the paid employees first, the people who they know earn a fixed monthly salary with benefits and have money to pay back the ill-gotten goods.
No, they are going after non-public servants first.
Now while I don’t condone any illegal activities by any sector of society, I would like to suggest to Minister Zulu that she first throws out the rotten apples under her own tree.
Public sector workers have the luxury of employment, with benefits. Millions of other South Africans are not as fortunate.
It has also been highlighted that Sassa’s Durban District office hasn’t paid its rent for over five years and owes over R6 million, while the Northern Cape’s Ritchie Local Office has not paid rent for 10 years. How is this OK?
To add to my Sassa migraine, I came across a statement from Social Development MEC Sharna Fernandez, wherein she recounted the following experiences of grant recipients who she met on a recent visit to the Sassa offices in Bellville.
She said: “I want the voices of the beneficiaries to speak for themselves and I share below their experiences:
“Beneficiary A: His disability grant expired in December. He went to the Sassa office in Bellville to apply for a new one, only to receive an appointment for 14 February. He says he has been without money for three months, relying on loans to make it through. Should his application be successful, he will only receive his next grant payment in March. He had to borrow the R36 needed to travel by taxi from Delft to Bellville.
“Beneficiary B: It is 6.30am, a woman says she and her husband have been sleeping outside the Bellville Sassa office since 4pm the previous day to ensure they were among the first in line. They do this, despite having an appointment, for fear of not being served.
“Beneficiary C: A man is here with his brother, who is applying for a disability grant. The man is frustrated because last week when he came to the Sassa office, he was informed his brother, who has cancer, has to be there to apply in person. His brother can barely walk on his own. Upon their second visit the man was told he cannot go into the office with his brother, he needed to wait outside.”
Fernandez went on to say that she and her entourage were met by snaking queues going around the building of the Sassa office in Bellville.
“The operations manager informed us there is a queue management system where beneficiaries who have appointments are assisted first before those without appointments,” the MEC said.
“There were two shorter lines of people with enquiries. This office services one of the biggest areas in the Cape Metro, helping approximately 300 people a day. There are only 32 grant administrators, which we were informed by a staffer is simply not enough.
“Load shedding also hinders services, as administrators must capture grant applications manually, causing a backlog.
“Many of the people in the queues told us they first tried going to service points in their respective areas [Elsies River, Belhar, and Delft] but these were closed. Memorandums of Understanding for venues need to be arranged as a matter of urgency, so that Sassa service points are localized for cash-strapped clients who cannot afford to travel far,” she concluded.
Sadly, what Minister Fernandez witnessed isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. Millions of people are stripped of their dignity by the treatment of Sassa.
Everyone who knows me knows that I am not now, and never will be a supporter of the DA, so this article can in no way be seen as an attempt to tarnish the ANC, but these are facts.
Minister Zulu and Sassa are failing our people. If you don’t believe me or Minister Fernandez, then just go to any Sassa branch.
When will national government take action against the conduct of this agency?
For as long as Sassa and its minister are not held accountable for their failures and inaction, the longer our people will continue to suffer. And I don’t really know how much more we can take.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za