There are millions of South Africans who rely on social grants. Payments are made out monthly to qualifying beneficiaries, but the process is not always consistent.
Why Sassa Grant Recipients Encounter Payment Issues
Due to the fact that there are as many as 18 million Sassa social grant beneficiaries including children, the elderly, war veterans, and the disabled, Sassa faces challenges with payments.According to DA cabinet official Bridget Masango, this vast network of grant recipients may result in some beneficiaries not receiving their grants on time.
The disbursement of Sassa social grants has encountered issues every month since January 2020, according to Masango.
However, Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu maintains that no such payment issues have occurred since that period, with the exception of duplicate payments in May 2020 in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, which have been resolved since then.
- As soon as SASSA transfers the money into beneficiaries’ accounts, social grants are considered to have been paid. After the above-mentioned error was corrected, beneficiaries were paid later during the expected payment date and any overpayments were fully refunded
Approximately 8 million people throughout the country receive the Social Relief of Distress grant from the agency. Zulu admitted that although there have been technical difficulties in the past with paying out the R350 grant, these have since been resolved.
Here Why Sassa Grant Recipients Encounter Payment Issues
The challenges with paying out the R350 grant were largely due to Sassa’s third-party verification process, which relies heavily on applicants providing accurate information. There were similar difficulties encountered with recipients who collected grants by other methods, such as cash, and then asked for an alternative method of collection
Approximately 500,000 Post Bank account holders were not able to receive their R350 grant and experienced payment delays because many were not FICA compliant. According to the Minister, this was mostly an issue during the first grant cycle.
It was concluded by Zulu that beneficiaries must take action if there are any past-due payments. It is not possible to specify a specific date for when all clients will be paid.
As soon as the client has corrected their payment method and the agency has verified it, Sassa will be able to pay the affected beneficiaries.