By Lee-Yandra Paulsen
In response to the recent hardships faced by SASSA beneficiaries across South Africa due to a Post Bank glitch, the Human Rights Organization Black Sash has taken a proactive stance to hold the government accountable. This decision stems from their deep concern for the thousands of beneficiaries who were left without their essential grant payments.
The Western Cape Regional Officer at Black Sash, Thandi Henkeman, spoke about the issue during an interview with VOC’s Sunday Live. Henkeman shared the timeline of the technical glitches, revealing that they first surfaced in November of the previous year when Post Bank assumed full responsibility for grant payments, taking over from the post office. Unfortunately, the Post Bank system was ill-prepared to handle the intricacies of grant disbursement, resulting in a security breach that compromised the system’s firewall in December.
To address these challenges, Post Bank embarked on further IT improvements, inadvertently leading to the latest glitch that disrupted the lives of older persons and other grant recipients.
“Black Sash is concerned by the impact that the glitches and delays have had on many beneficiaries. We can report many beneficiaries having to stay over at the payment site and these are elderly people. This is because they haven’t received their grants and cannot afford to come back to the payment site the following day,” said Henkeman.
Black Sash’s commitment to defending the rights of SASSA beneficiaries is not new; they had previously initiated legal action in the constitutional court when the risk to grant beneficiaries was imminent. This proactive approach forced SASSA to find remedies to the ongoing challenges under the close supervision of the court.
Henkeman emphasized that it is the solemn responsibility of the Department of Social Development (DSD) and SASSA to fulfill their constitutional mandate. This mandate necessitates the implementation of robust mechanisms that ensure beneficiaries receive their full grants promptly and with the dignity they deserve.
While Post Bank has acknowledged the issue and is diligently working to rectify it, Black Sash continues to stand by beneficiaries in their time of need.
“We also want to urge beneficiaries we are still experiencing issues to call, SMS, or WhatsApp to our helpline number 072 663 3739 or 063 610 1865 or send an email to help@blacksash.org.za and that is our helpline information,” explained Henkeman.
VOC News
Photo: SASSA
