The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) made headlines earlier this year when it extended the grace period for beneficiaries to renew their SASSA pay cards until De- cember 2023. However, as the set date for payment reception approached, many benefi- ciaries found themselves struggling to access their much-needed funds, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the grace period extension. The announcement of the grace period extension came as a relief to millions of South Africans who rely on SASSA grants to make ends meet. These grants pro- vide a lifeline to those who are unable to work due to age, disability or other circumstances. For the elderly in Mahikeng, this an- nouncement came under interruption in July this year.
On Tuesday, droves of pensioners were seen stranded at various taxi terminals in Station Road. They returned to their respective homes empty-handed as they could not receive their payments from the Postbank branches and various national chain-store branches in town. One Good Samaritan taxi driver, who wished to remain anonymous, gave four "gogos" a R100 note for them to re- turn to Ramatlabama 600 village. "What pained me the most was that I could see that they were also hungry and the R100 was all I had, and I was very far in the queue," said the driver. SASSA's decision to extend the deadline for renewing pay cards was seen as a compassionate response to the challenges faced by these beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as December 2023 drew closer, reports began to surface about benefi- ciaries encountering significant obstacles in accessing their grants.
Many beneficiaries complained of long queues at SASSA offices, technical glitches with card renewals, and frustrating delays in receiving their payments. One such beneficiary, Tonti Matlawe, a 68-year-old pensioner from Ramatlabama, shared her ordeal saying: "I've been coming to the SASSA office for weeks, and every time I stand in line for hours, only to be told that there's a problem with their system. I rely on this money to buy food and pay my bills. It's been incredibly stressful not knowing when I'll get my payment."The situation has become especially dire for those who depend on their SASSA grants for essential services like medication and daily living expenses.
Handicapped individuals and military veterans, who often face additional challenges, have been hit particularly hard by these delays. While the promise of improvements is welcomed, beneficiaries and advocacy groups are calling for urgent action to address the immediate needs of those affected. They emphasise that the ex- tension of the grace period should not become a source of added distress for already vulnerable individuals. SASSA initially referred our media enquiry to the South African Postbank spokes- person, Dr Bongani Diako, who issued a statement that read thus: "SASSA social grants customers using Postbank SASSA Gold Cards and all stakeholders are advised that the technical difficulty that intermittently affected SASSA grants customers' ability to perform with- drawals yesterday has been resolved for all ATM and Post Office branch transactions," it stated. Diako elaborated that SASSA customers using bank cards and the SASSA Gold Card can now immediately access their social grant money via ATMs and Post Office branches.
The statement also read that the process- ing of reversals for funds debited on the accounts that declined since Tuesday due to a system error was underway. The Social Security Agency apologised to their recipients for the inconvenience caused by the incident and thanked them for their patience. SASSA national spokesperson, Paseka Letsatsi responded directly to the enquiry through a media release that stated: "The SASSA acknowledges notice from the Postbank regarding the resumption of payment withdrawals or transactions following technical challenges experienced by social grant clients on payment days on 05 and 06 September 2023. Clients can now enjoy the use of the SASSA/ Postbank cards to make purchases and payments.
