Statement by Nazley Sharif MP – DA Spokesperson on Social Development:
Minister Dina Pule’s first media briefing did little to convince South Africans that she has a credible plan to fix the Department of Social Development or SASSA. While she acknowledged the panic and frustration caused by the ongoing social grant reviews, her briefing was short on detail and long on promises. Grant beneficiaries deserve certainty, not vague assurances from a Minister who has yet to demonstrate that she can turn around a department in crisis.
The DA remains deeply concerned not only by the Minister’s failure to provide a credible plan, but also by her personal history and the findings previously made against her for breaching Parliament’s Code of Ethical Conduct. More than two weeks after the DA wrote to the Presidency requesting an immediate lifestyle audit of Minister Pule, there has still been no response. The Presidency must act without further delay. South Africans deserve to know that the person entrusted with protecting the country’s most vulnerable people meets the highest standards of integrity and accountability.
The Minister’s heavy reliance on digitisation as the solution to SASSA’s problems is also deeply concerning. The Department is already defending court action over the exclusion of eligible R370 SRD grant applicants through its online-only application system. Expanding this model risks excluding even more vulnerable South Africans who lack access to smartphones, affordable data or reliable internet connectivity. Offering free Wi-Fi at SASSA offices is no substitute for accessible services, particularly when some offices do not consistently open or already have long queues.
Pule has offered little comfort to the beneficiaries who failed to complete the ongoing beneficiary review process or to those still uncertain about the status of their grants. Beneficiaries deserve clear, proactive communication, not confusion and fear over whether they will receive the support they depend on. The Minister also failed to adequately explain how the biometric verification process will be improved, how much grant funding remains unpaid because of administrative failures, and what concrete steps will be taken to restore confidence in SASSA’s ability to administer social grants fairly and efficiently.
The DA will continue to hold the minister to account and ensure that we fight for beneficiaries of social grants.
Dora the Destroyer
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Patton Digger
Syria: You have two cows. They have been fighting for as long as you remember, but it is hard to remember anyway, because you are in Sweden.