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Sassa chickens come home to roost
In February this year, Black Sash and Open Secrets warned there was a crisis brewing in the administration and payment of social grants.
They questioned why Sassa and the SA Post Office had made Postbank, which already had a reputation for technical difficulties, the preferred partner to take over the administration of social grant payments.
Earlier this month, those chickens came home to roost as their warning became a reality.
Six hundred thousand vulnerable people, already at the mercy of poverty, woke up on 5 and 6 September to face the prospect of only being able to access a small amount of their grant or none at all due to what was labelled a system "glitch".
A glitch maybe for you and me.
An absolute disaster for someone who only has that money to rely on every month.
The crisis revealed a government utterly unshaken by the plight of those forced to find a way to feed themselves and pay for electricity until the glitch was resolved.
As loan sharks probably rubbed their hands in glee at the government's incompetence, many pensioners, along with those receiving disability and child grants, would use the little bit of cash they still had to travel to Postbank offices around the country in the hope the issue had been rectified.
For some, it would be nearly a three-week wait until they could finally access their full grant.
The government's attitude was simply "whoops", while Postbank's director could not guarantee the September late payments debacle would not reoccur.
In this week's Friday Briefing, analyst and News24 columnist Ebrahim Harvey argues there is no government department whose glaring inefficiencies, incompetence and mismanagement have hurt and harmed poor black people, the overwhelming majority of grant recipients, more than the Department of Social Development.
A little ironic for a department whose aim, according to its website, is to provide social development, protection, and welfare services to the public.
We also have a submission from News24's political reporter, Khaya Koko, who writes about previous incidences where Sassa's sordid systems have failed the public.
Black Sash's director, Rachel Bukasa, provides background into why many beneficiaries choose to use the Sassa Gold card instead of a private bank, even though they know it is likely to give them headaches.
Finally, News24 metro reporter Alex Patrick reflects on some of the stories of those affected by this "glitch".
She writes Mahatma Gandhi once said the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.
In that case, this saga is not reflecting very well.
Best,
Vanessa Banton
Opinions editor.
An ANC that disdainfully mistreated the poor will want their votes in 2024
At the heart of the Sassa tragedy is the devastating physical, emotional and psychological toll it has taken, especially on pensioners and disability beneficiaries. Ebrahim Harvey reflects on three big questions around the crisis.
Sassa's sordid systems and the spectre of South Africa's social insecurity
The alleged brazenness that spawns Sassa's corrupt contracts highlights the sordid systems that, this month, resulted in 600 000 old-age grant recipients receiving their monthly R2 080 up to a week past the due date, writes Khaya Koko.
A delayed grant payment is a denied grant payment
The most vulnerable in South Africa should not carry the burden of government failures, writes Rachel Bukasa.
A mere 'glitch' in government's eyes, a nightmare for struggling grant beneficiaries
The delayed payment of old-age, disbaility and child grants It may have been a mere 'glitch' to government, but to those on the receiving end it was a matter of life and death, writes Alex Patrick.
