The South African Social Security Agency has recently come under public scrutiny following a decision to abruptly close down one of its branches. Affected beneficiaries have voiced their displeasure with the agency’s inability to deliver its services effectively.
Several beneficiaries of the Sassa social grant in Khayelitsha, Western Cape have found themselves faced with the challenge of having to collect their grant payments at an alternative branch. This is due to the fact that the agency’s branch in the area has been temporarily closed down for renovations until 2024.
The Sassa local office branch is reported to have been shut down since Thursday last week. Furthermore, the development is said to come without prior notice to Sassa social grant recipients. Dismayed beneficiaries were turned away by a mere note at the gate.
In response to this, the Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) called for the dismissal of Sassa’s CEO and said that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) failed to exercise effective communication which would have helped grant recipients avoid being turned away unexpectedly.
The situation here with this Sassa tells a story of what South Africans are able to tolerate. I think the CEO of Sassa must simply be fired because the lives of approximately more than 100 000 people have just been disrupted.
He further pointed out that for the better part of Thursday, Sassa staff members did not know why the branch was being closed down. Some of the affected beneficiaries also expressed their frustration about the issue adding they have had to tolerate being constantly turned away when coming to collect their grant payments.
Civic organization, BlackSash has also called for an immediate intervention for the issue to be resolved and criticized how Sassa has failed to communicate effectively, with its grant recipients.
