In a significant development amid the ongoing Sassa card renewal crisis, Minister for Communication and Digital Technology Solly Malatsi has guaranteed no social grant payments will be stopped, regardless of whether beneficiaries have received their new black Postbank cards.
The assurance came at a joint portfolio committee meeting on Tuesday, where Minister Malatsi revealed that additional interventions, including a cardless cash-withdrawal service similar to an eWallet system, were being introduced for Postbank clients to ensure continuous access to funds.
The transition from gold Sassa cards to new black Postbank cards has been plagued by logistical failures and poor coordination between Sassa and Postbank. Beneficiaries across the country have reported standing in queues for hours only to be turned away without assistance. The deadline for the transition was recently extended from 28 February to 20 March, after widespread public outcry.
Despite this extension, alarming figures revealed during the committee meeting show that since 12 February only 536 427 cards had been issued, leaving more than 2,4 million beneficiaries still without their cards.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) deputy spokesperson on social development Alexandra Abrahams MP highlighted critical failures in the roll-out plan. In the Western Cape alone only 16 distribution sites were operational, far fewer than the 27 planned.
“Sassa and Postbank’s poor coordination has led to a failure in meeting expectations,” stated Abrahams. “Beneficiaries have been sent from pillar to post, enduring long queues and confusion while attempting to access their new cards.”
To address the ongoing crisis, several interventions have been announced:
• The introduction of a cardless cash withdrawal service, ensuring beneficiaries can access their grants even without the new black card
• Extended operating hours at Sassa offices on weekdays and weekends to support beneficiaries switching to commercial banks
• The deployment of additional mobile offices, particularly focused on rural areas
The DA has called for daily updates on cards issued per province and the locations of all distribution sites to ensure transparency and accountability.
Questions remained about why earlier interventions weren’t implemented sooner. The DA questioned why Sassa began using the Socpen system a while after a meeting on 7 February decided this solution will alleviate much of the current chaos.
“While Minister Tolashe attempts to absolve herself of responsibility, it is clear that SASSA, as a service provider and entity for the Department of Social Development, should have intervened much earlier when it became apparent that Postbank was falling short,” Abrahams noted.
The DA has called for a follow-up joint committee meeting of national and provincial Social Development ministries, demanding detailed information on the card-transition process and a clear contingency plan for struggling beneficiaries, that it take place before 20 March.
For beneficiaries the government’s assurance is set to offer some relief. However, the practical implementation of the cardless-cash withdrawal and so on will be closely monitored in the coming weeks.
