SASSA calls out Grindrod for misleading pamphlet
Meanwhile a new Sassa card for Sassa beneficiaries was launched last week.
SOCIAL grant beneficiaries have been cautioned to be vigilant and not fall victim to false claims by individuals marketing products under the guise of being SASSA officials.
This comes after the South Africa Social Security Agency (SASSA) said it had noted with concern how Grindrod bank has used SASSA’s name to mislead beneficiaries by implicitly blurring the lines between their EasyPay Everywhere (green) card and the SASSA card. This emerged in a pamphlet that has been circulated at strategic places across the country.
According to the Agency, the pamphlet states: “You have the right to continue to use your SASSA branded Grindrod card or your Easypay Everywhere (green) card for as long as you want to.”
The message is deliberately misleading and the timing, according to the Agency, is meant to create confusion among beneficiaries. The old SASSA card expires in December 2018, although the pamphlet claims this is not the case, creating more confusion and potentially enticing beneficiaries to opt into financial services carried by the green card.
Acting SASSA CEO Abraham Mahlangu, cautioned Grindrod in a letter addressed to its CEO David Polkinghorne, against the implications of the misleading pamphlet. In the letter, he outlined reasons why the pamphlet is misleading.
“The pamphlet depicts the SASSA card and Easy Pay Everywhere (green) card as being the product of Grindrod and Net1. On the contrary, the SASSA card is the product of SASSA which is being managed by CPS/Grindrod,” he said.
“Furthermore the pamphlet depicts the green card as one of SASSA’s banking accounts of choice, however, that card has not been endorsed or backed by SASSA. Grindrod has been given 5 days to provide SASSA with proof of retracting the false claims contained in its pamphlet. SASSA wishes to inform beneficiaries that the new card has already been manufactured and it will be distributed accordingly from May 2018. The new card, which will be issued by the South African Post Office and SASSA, replaces the old card and will be used for payment and withdrawal of social grants as from May 2018,” said Mahlangu.
Beneficiaries who are in any doubt are urged to contact their local offices or the customer care department on 0800601011.
ALSO READ: Post Office warns against scam
Meanwhile, the SA Post Office and SASSA successfully launched a new SASSA card for SASSA beneficiaries on 3 May in Worcester, with Postbank as the issuing bank. The card is already available at selected Post Office branches, and a process to swop the old CPS-Grindrod Sassa card for the new Sassa-Postbank card will start during the middle of May.
Post Office COO, Ms Lindiwe Kwele, says beneficiaries should consider moving from cash payments to a bank account, as a beneficiary with cash runs a very real risk of being mugged. While the validity of the current cards was extended to December 2018, the intention is to migrate the current beneficiaries to the new SAPO/Postbank solution and cards by the end of September 2018.
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