By Amy Musgave
The DA will write to Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe to ask that no SA Social Security Agency gold cards expire before all of them have been replaced, and that interim verification measures be put in place urgently so that deserving recipients get their grants.
It said on Sunday that had been inundated by worried beneficiaries who feared that they would not receive their social grants, either because their gold cards were set to stop working at the end of February or because they were unable to verify their details for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant as the agency’s verification system has been temporarily suspended.
The DA further encouraged gold card users to switch from Postbank to other reputable and reliable banks to receive their grants.
“The switch to the black cards has been chaotic, with SASSA beneficiaries often being sent from pillar to post just to return home empty-handed. This causes untold stress on the recipients and also eats away at their meagre finances,” it said in a statement.
“Minister Tolashe needs to account to Parliament on the number of Sassa beneficiaries still reliant on their gold cards to receive their grants, as well as how many recipients have switched over the black cards or opened accounts at reliable banks. She also needs to account regarding the legitimate SRD grant recipients being locked out of their grants due to the verification system suspension.”
DA spokesperson Bridget Masango said the agency has always caused as much harm as good to the people its mandated to serve – South Africa’s poorest and most vulnerable people.
“While people cannot survive without their grants, the inhumane suffering constantly inflicted on them in an effort to access their funds is beyond callous. While the DA supports and welcomes the eradication of fraudulent payments, it must be done in a way that does not harm legitimate recipients.”
The agency informed all SRD grant recipients that it was suspending their grants payments to verify and confirm their and identity and prevent fraudulent applications.
INSIDE POLITICS
