Over 18 million permanent social grants are distributed by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), including the Older Persons pension grant, Disability grant, War Veterans grant, Care Dependency grant, Foster Child grant, Child Support grant, Child Support grant Top-Up, and Grant-in-aid. Payment delays and failures impose severe hardships on these beneficiaries.
The review will assess Sassa’s contracts with the South African Post Office (SAPO) and Postbank. Postbank assumed grant payment responsibilities in 2022 after SAPO reduced its services due to major operational challenges, as detailed here.
Stellah Masombuka, leading the review, said the process began with data collection in June and July and is expected to conclude in December. The first draft report will be available in September.
“The department will investigate systemic failures, identify successful elements, and propose improvements,” Masombuka said.
The DPME highlighted critical issues, including “network challenges and system glitches during grant payment runs, leading to failed transactions,” as well as inadequate facilities for beneficiaries queuing at Postbank branches.
I acknowledge that the challenges on the ground are immediate. This document is part of the evidence we are documenting on what is happening,
Civil society organisations have until Friday, 23 May, to submit feedback and nominate representatives for the steering committee overseeing the review.
Kgaugelo Moshia-Molebatsi, DPME’s senior evaluation specialist, explained: “Based on recommendations by the steering committee, an improvement plan will be tabled, and a progress report will then be produced every six months for two years.”
