Sassa Benoni urges applicants to make use of the online application process to avoid long waiting periods queuing outside offices and to avoid being turned away as staff can only assist a certain number of people in a day due to Covid protocols and the low staff count.
Local office manager Trevor Pillay explained that since its inception, Sassa has been progressively affecting automation and digitisation to improve service delivery.
The need to automate the social grant application process became even more urgent when in March last year with the announcement of a level five lockdown due to the pandemic.
“Sassa offices adhered to the lockdown regulations and services became inaccessible to the general public,” said Pillay.
“In September 2020 the online application platform was launched. The most vulnerable members of society were affected and this crisis required Sassa to relook at its business processes and come up with innovative ways to serve the public.”
On May 9 last year, the minister signed the “directions” which allow for the electronic application process.
Direction 6 (l) (viii) (a) reads: An application for social relief of distress or a social grant may be lodged electronically over and above any other available means of lodging such applications.
“To this end, Sassa introduced the online social grant application process, which aims to offer clients an option to complete the application at a convenient location,” Pillay explained.
This remote self-service is possible on both a computer and a mobile phone and it enables access to the following Sassa services: applications for older persons, foster child and child support grants and change of circumstances.
“This will assist in alleviating the huge crowds going to Sassa offices. It has been evident at the Benoni office that clients don’t comply with social distancing and Covid protocols, which in turn increases the risk of infection and closure of the office when officials get infected,” Pillay said.
To make use of the online system applicants must make use of the website: https://services.sassa.gov.za
“The online application forms for old age grant, foster child grant and child support grant and change of circumstance (banking details) were developed, tested, piloted and are currently in use,” he concluded.
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