‘Grant payments will not be disrupted’ – Sassa and Sapo

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the SA Post Office (Sapo) have assured social grants beneficiaries that their social grants will continue to be paid on time every month following media reports that the Post Office was in a dire financial situation and was considering shutting down many cash pay-points around the country.

According to Sassa national spokesperson Kgomoco Diseko, the reports that Sapo was considering closing grant payments pay-points were inaccurate and misleading.

“The weekend media reports suggesting that the Post Office may not be able to process social grants payments are incorrect. We assure everyone that social grant payments to all the more than 11 million Sassa beneficiaries will not be disrupted,” said Diseko.

He explained that there were 1 740 cash pay points through the country which were serviced monthly and the majority of them were located in rural areas where there was no national payment infrastructure.

“Sassa has the sole prerogative to determine these pay points and not Sapo,” said Diseko.

He said the reports in the media that the Post Office was losing at least R60 million a month from distributing social grants to millions of citizens were inaccurate, and were based on an internal discussion document expressing the views of an individual.

“The R60m cited in the report actually reflects a cost figure of Sapo that is associated with the grants payments contract and not a loss. On the contrary, the Sassa contract presents a necessary revenue stream for Sapo,” he said.

Diseko explained that the beneficiary funds were deposited directly into the beneficiaries’ accounts every month by Sassa and Sapo served as a distribution agent of the grants which were deposited into the Postbank Sassa/Sapo gold card accounts.

“The Sassa/Sapo gold card accounts are opened and managed in accordance with the contract between Sassa and Sapo,” he said.

Diseko said social grant beneficiaries had a choice as to where they wish to access the funds, and this may be through any bank ATM’s, merchant point of sale devices, post offices or at one of the remaining Sassa cash pay points.

“The Sassa/Sapo gold card can also be used everywhere where VISA cards are accepted for the purchase of goods, as it is a fully fledged debit card. There is no requirement for Sapo funds to be utilised to pay grant beneficiaries. Therefore, the weekend media reports are inaccurate to state that beneficiaries might not get paid because of Sapo,” said Diseko.

The company that was previously contracted by Sassa to pay social grants Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) was recently dealt a heavy blow by the Constitutional Court which dismissed its application for leave to appeal the Supreme Court of Appeal judgment that ordered them to repay R316-million to Sassa.

The matter against CPS was brought by Corruption Watch which approached the North Gauteng High Court in 2015 seeking that the court review and set aside the exorbitant payment from Sassa to CPS that went beyond the scope of the contractual arrangement.

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