DA calls on Sassa to open all offices to speed up unemployment grant applications

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) to urgently open all its offices to assist with the influx of applications for the special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant of R350.

DA MP Bridget Masango said while applications for the grant could be done online via email and a WhatsApp number, “many of the people who are in desperate need of the grant do not have access to these and the other online platforms”.

“The DA has learned with some trepidation, however, that Sassa’s answer to this problem is not to open its offices, but to train volunteers to go into communities to assist people without access to technology to apply for the special grant. There seems to be little rhyme or reason for this proposal,” she said.

Masango questioned why should Sassa spend money on training volunteers and on acquiring gadgets for them when the agency “already has an extensive footprint with offices all around the country” as well as staff that are readily trained to assist people that are currently at home.

“Surely the money allocated for training purposes would be much better spent on assisting the most vulnerable in our society.”

She said applying for the grant at Sassa offices could significantly lower the risk of people being exploited by criminals.

“The DA is also concerned by the requirement for bank account details to apply for the grant. It does not make sense to require people to apply for bank accounts now when the grants will only be paid for six months. Sassa should rather consider using alternative platforms like eWallets to pay grants to recipients,” Masango said.

Speaking to the SABC on Thursday morning, Busisiwe Memela-Khambula said the agency was looking at sending money to recipients using eWallet or other similar mechanisms.

Masango said it was also worrying that applicants for the grant should provide proof of residence when making an application.

“The DA has received reports that the Lekwa Municipality in Mpumalanga is charging people R30 for proof of residence documents, without providing them with receipts. They are surely not the only municipality that does this. It is ludicrous to expect people that do not have enough money to buy food, to have the funds to pay for a proof of residence document. This added burden will deter a lot of people that would otherwise have benefitted from the grant,” Masango said.

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

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