DA lays complaint with SAHRC over grant payment failure

The DA has lodged an urgent complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over the failure of social grants payment. 

More than 600 000 social grant beneficiaries did not get their monies last week due to a Postbank technical glitch.

On Monday, 18 September, Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu said 95% of beneficiaries received their money. She acknowledged that the remaining 5% was still a high concern. 

Accounting for the ongoing social grant payment failures

The DA lodged a complaint with the SAHRC against the minister, the social development department, the South African Social Security Agency, and Postbank for their part in the failure to pay social grants. 

READ MORE: Billions returned to Treasury won’t affect R350 SRD grant beneficiaries, says Zulu

“Not only is the minister continuing to fail millions of vulnerable grant beneficiaries each month, her department has also returned billions to National Treasury in unpaid social relief of distress (SRD) grants,” said the DA. 

The party said the ongoing failures have resulted in an alarming human rights violation, as claiming mothers were compelled to abandon their babies.

DA MP Bridget Masango along with DA MPLs Refiloe Nt’sekhe and Bronwynn Engelbrecht laid the urgent complaint at the SAHRC offices in Johannesburg. 

"The DA demands that the Gauteng Department of Social Development urgently engage their national counterparts, the Department of Social Development and the Post Bank, to fix this mess and ensure that all SASSA beneficiaries receive their monies." @RefiloeNtsekhe pic.twitter.com/H34RhzUgFk

— DA Gauteng (@DAGauteng) September 19, 2023

R4 billion returned to National Treasury

Zulu cleared the air about the money her government returned to Treasury, saying it was not R15 billion and would not affect the SRD grant budget. 

She told radio station 702 that the department returned R4 billion to Treasury.

ALSO READ: DA calls for Sassa to use other banks for grant payments

Zulu said the money was repurposed. 

“The money that was returned was for the 2022/23 financial year and it was repurposed for other areas,” said Zulu, explaining the department budgeted for 15 million people but ended up paying 10.5 qualifying beneficiaries in that financial year.

She said her department has urged Postbank to release a detailed daily report on outstanding grant payments.

“Not every beneficiary has received their money. (we) have asked Postbank to give us a detailed daily report that we can send to the president. They have given us a guarantee in the form of a plan and letter that their system is in order.”

Zulu said the department was also looking at other payment options.