SASSA recipients left hanging by SAPO branch closures

Dear Editor

The DA notes the South African Post Office’s (SAPO) confirmation that it has started closing cash payment points for social grant recipients across the country.

We will submit written parliamentary questions to determine exactly which SAPO payment points will be closed, the date of closure, the number of South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) social grant recipients serviced at each Post Office, as well as the nearest alternative payment point to the closed SAPO branch.

While the DA greatly encourages SASSA grant beneficiaries to switch their grant payments to reputable banks and make use of alternative payment points, the truth is that many grant recipients still rely on Post Offices for access to their funds. And both SASSA and the Post Office’s communication regarding the closures have been woefully inadequate leaving vulnerable grant beneficiaries fearful of whether they will be able to access their grants.

It is shameful that SASSA and the Post Office’s service failures feeds into the fears President Cyril Ramaphosa’s callous lies created for South Africa’s poorest and most vulnerable. It is also ironic that the President created the impression that opposition parties will scrap social grants when it is his ANC government and his incompetent ANC Ministers that constantly fail to pay SASSA grants.

Every month, social grant beneficiaries worry about whether they will be paid on time, if at all. SASSA grant beneficiaries rarely have other forms of income. Without their grants they face starvation and destitution. And instead of making their lives easier, the ANC government and President Ramaphosa choose to add to their burden.

Regards

Bridget Masango MP
DA Shadow Minister of Social Development