Sassa said it had noted the announcement by Postbank but emphasised that the changes would not negatively impact the payment of social grants.
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The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has assured eligible social grant beneficiaries that they would not be affected by Postbank’s announcement regarding the discontinuation of certain services at Post Office branches across the country.
Sassa said it had noted the announcement by Postbank but emphasised that the changes would not negatively impact the payment of social grants.
The agency said beneficiaries should not be concerned about the adjustment in working arrangements between Postbank and the Post Office.
Chief executive officer Themba Matlou said it remained “all systems go” for the upcoming May payment cycle, which started from Tuesday.
Sassa said older persons grants would be paid on May 5, followed by disability grants on May 6 and children’s grants on May 7.
“As per the norm in our payment system, on Tuesday, we are starting with older persons, followed by disability on Wednesday, and then we round off with children’s grant,” Matlou said.
He added that Sassa would also implement what it called the “fourth payment day” for beneficiaries who may not receive their grants on their usual dates due to social grant review processes.
Matlou said Sassa was working to ensure that no eligible beneficiary was negatively affected by administrative changes within the agency or its partner institutions.
He explained that systems have been designed to protect beneficiaries and ensure continuity of payments despite operational adjustments.
“The way our systems work currently, they are intended to safeguard the interests of our important beneficiaries to ensure that they do not bear the brunt should there be any changes in working arrangements that we have with our partners,” he said.
He added that Sassa was continuing with initiatives aimed at improving the integrity of its systems to ensure the secure and seamless administration and distribution of social grants.
“We are deliberate in our attempts to improve how Sassa works, to the betterment of service provision to our people,” Matlou said, noting efforts to strengthen protections against fraud.
Matlou also confirmed that social grant reviews are ongoing to verify beneficiary eligibility, adding that the eLife Certification self-service online portal was gradually improving and allowing beneficiaries to complete verification processes remotely.
“We call on our beneficiaries to heed the call when we ask them to undergo a social grant review process by coming to their nearest offices. On eLife Certification, we call on those with means to do them online, not to come to our offices as it is a self-service,” he said.