SASSA: Pensioners complain to minister about deductions from their grants
Social Development minister and SASSA CEO visit Delft office
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Social Development minister Dina Pule speaking to SASSA beneficiaries during her oversight visit to the Delft office on Monday. Photo: Sindisiwe Tshona
- Social Development minister Dina Pule and Themba Matlou, CEO of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) conducted an oversight visit to the Delft office in Cape Town on Monday.
- Grant beneficiaries complained of unauthorised deductions from their social grants as well as long queues and insufficient toilets.
- At the Bellville office which Pule had visited a month ago, some beneficiaries complained they still had to spend hours in queues.
Pensioner Christine Southgate has visited the SASSA office in Delft several times in recent weeks to stop a deduction for funeral cover from her grant. She says she didn’t sign up for it.
She was one of a dozen grant beneficiaries who spoke during an oversight visit by Social Development minister Dina Pule and SASSA CEO Themba Matlou at the office on Monday.
Southgate told the minister she has been coming to the Delft office to get the deductions for an Emerald Life policy stopped. She said she did not recall signing up for the policy and she cannot afford to pay water and electricity bills because of the deductions.
“Since March this year, Emerald has been deducting money from my pension, yet I never signed any forms or gave consent for this. I already have burial cover through my church.”
“Today is my fourth time coming back to try to resolve this,” said Southgate.
Delft pensioner Christine Southgate has been to SASSA several times to have an unauthorised deduction from her grant stopped. Photo: Sindisiwe Tshona
She left the office again without being assisted, but, she said, a SASSA official took her details and promised to assist.
GroundUp sent questions to Emerald. The article will be updated once a response has been received.
We also spoke to other beneficiaries who complained of deductions for Clientele Life policies. The company has asked for their details so that their cases can be investigated.
Pule and Matlou also spoke to beneficiaries about the service they receive at the office, and their experience accessing online SASSA services. Some people who spoke about positive experiences, particularly the friendly SASSA staff. But others raised concerns about long queues and insufficient toilets. Some asked the minister to increase the value of social grants.
This is the first of three waiting areas inside the Delft office. Photo: Sindisiwe Tshona
Pule said she had wanted to get feedback directly from beneficiaries and staff. “I also want to encourage officials to keep up their good work, because they work with a large number of people on a daily basis.
“At registration, I asked how many people they had helped by 12:30, they told me more than 100.”
She promised to bring in more officials to help people.
Beneficiaries wait for service inside the Bellville office. Photo: Abonge Chiya
In Bellville
GroundUp also visited SASSA’s Bellville office which Pule had visited over a month ago. At the time, staff complained to her about the slow biometric verification system piloted at the Bellville office, and about shortages of staff.
On Monday, several beneficiaries we spoke to complained of repeated visits and spending hours waiting to be helped, but some said there had been an improvement.
Rachel Lott from Elsies River said she arrived at 7am to get help with her disability grant. By the time she arrived, there were already people waiting outside.
Lott said that she had been visiting the office since May but to no avail. “Everything is taking too long. The children and old people must come stand here in the cold early in the morning,” said Lott.
Nathan Jordan said, “I arrived here around 5:10am, we stand outside against the walls and that is not appropriate as it is cold and we are elderly people.”
He said that it was his second time visiting the SASSA offices to get help with his old age grant.
Naomi Basson said she had applied for a pension last month and had been given an appointment date to return. “I was helped this morning, and the service was good,” she said.
Christabel De Jager said the queue was moving quicker than on her previous visits.
Christabel De Jager says she sees an improvement at the SASSA Belville office. Photo: Abonge Chiya
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