‘Their money will be available at any hour of the day’ – no need to queue early, says Sassa
The national social security agency has pleaded to beneficiaries to refrain from rushing to post offices in the early hours of the morning.
Despite it being many beneficiaries’ only chance to collect their grants or swap their cards, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has pleaded with beneficiaries not to swamp the post offices in the early hours of the morning.
Earlier this month, Sassa experienced a large number of issues with the roll-out of its new gold card and the new system at the South African Post Office (Sapo) that goes with it, leaving many a beneficiary in the lurch when it comes to collecting their grants.
Sassa has since attributed the struggles with the cards at the beginning of the month to the strike which took place within the organisation. The strike, according to a Sassa media release, “had the potential of exacerbating the situation.” Luckily for the beneficiaries however, the strike had no impact on operations according to Sassa, and 72 per cent of the due July grants had been paid out by Friday, 6 July.
Also Read: Here’s where you can swap your old Sassa card for a new one
The organisation continued, saying that the remaining 28 per cent who haven’t been paid are people who “don’t rush to withdraw their money in the first week of the month.” The statement by the national social security agency continued, saying that “our [Sassa’s] plea to beneficiaries is that they don’t have to necessarily collect their grants on the first day of the month.”
They continued to advise beneficiaries not to queue at post offices from the early hours of the morning as “their money will be available at any hour of the day. They don’t have to subject themselves to the negative weather conditions we are experiencing and they have to avoid the congestion that comes at the beginning of every month.”
As per their latest media release, Sassa has paid R746 million of July’s R1 billion in grants, while only 700 000 of the 12 million Sassa beneficiaries have obtained the new gold card.
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