Social grant recipients sent home empty-handed
Systems are down, Pietermaritzburg beneficiaries told
Social grant beneficiaries in Pietermaritzburg say they did not get their November grants last week because of a breakdown in the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) computer system.
Beneficiaries say that when they went to collect their grants last week on Tuesday they were told to come back on Wednesday.
More than hundred beneficiaries went to SASSA offices at 390 Pietermaritz Street on Wednesday, demanding answers from officials, said Mahlengi Dludla from Imbali Unit 14.
Dludla said officials told them that due to the systems being down, they would only get paid in January. Dludla receives child grants of R720 a month.
A SASSA employee who spoke under condition of anonymity said not only child grant beneficiaries were affected but also pensioners.
âIt is not the first time they have dropped such a bomb,â said Lindiwe Sithole. âIn November, there are always issues.â
âThese people have no heart;Â they donât care about us. My three children have no food at home as we speak. The only thing I have at home is maize meal. I donât even have a tin of fish or potatoes.â
âLast Tuesday, they told us to come back on Wednesday,â said Dludla. âWe did that. They gave us some forms to fill in, but still it didnât make sense. They donât have a valid reason for us not getting paid. Their responses are not convincing, and itâs not the first [time] this happened. Why does it always happen at this time of the year?â
SASSA communications manager Mbizeni Mdlalose said the system breakdown was beyond SASSAâs control.
Mdlalose said some of the beneficiaries might not be aware that it was time for annual reviews.
âWe always encounter problems with the issue of reviews. Sometimes beneficiaries supply us with wrong addresses when they apply for the grants. SASSA sends letters reminding beneficiaries to come for the reviews only to find that the addresses donât exist. It could be that some of them did not get the money, due to that. That doesnât mean that they wonât be getting their money but they have to review with the department.
âWe urge people to please supply us with legitimate information.
âThe system being down is beyond our control, but beneficiaries must make sure that they come for reviews to the offices,â said Mdlalose.
However, all the beneficiaries who spoke to GroundUp said they had provided the department with all the necessary information and had done their reviews in good time.
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