Sassa: What You Need To Know

The post office and commercial banks are stepping in to help distribute social grants. We look at the ins and outs of the new system.

- Thulani Gqirana

SHE had the poorest of the poor in our land in a stricken state. The elderly, the struggling single parents, those who are disabled and barely able to fend for themselves.

Yet despite criticism upon criticism being thrown her way, social development minister Bathabile

Dlamini stubbornly stood by her decision not to answer questions about the millions of social grant payments that were up in the air because of her poor decision-making.

As the expenses-heavy festive season and start of the new school year drew nearer, fear crept into the hearts of those who didn’t know how they were going to provide for their families after the Constitutional Court ruled that the Sassa contract Dlamini had awarded to Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) was invalid.

The elderly were worried sick about not being able to buy even the cheapest samp and the young feared not being able to pay for basic school necessities.

And still the minister refused to provide answers and uncertainty grew as the clock ticked with no solution in sight. Then finally, as 2017 drew to a close, the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) on comprehensive social security announced a new plan for the payment of social grants. A hybrid system that includes the SA Post Office (Sapo) and commercial banks would be introduced, the IMC disclosed.

“This new system, while drawing on the resources and capabilities of the South African democratic state, will also make allowance for the participation of other partners, such as enterprises and commercial banks, in the payment of social grants to beneficiaries,” minister in the presidency Jeff Radebe said.

But many pensioners are still unsure of how this will affect them.