SASSA and SAPO must account for social grant applications found discarded along a KZN road

20 August 2020

The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the South African Post Office (SAPO) to get their facts in order and account for reports of grant applications found by a resident lying along a road in Ndwedwe, KwaZulu-Natal.

At a time when there has been endless delays and system glitches in the social grant payment system, grant applicants can ill afford to have another delay to their efforts to have money to feed their families.

What is further maddening about this sad state of affairs, is the conflicting messages between the spokespersons of SASSA and SAPO - with SASSA blaming SAPO, and SAPO saying that it is a mystery how the theft of the documents containing sensitive information could have occurred as such documents are meant to be locked away in a records room.

The DA will submit parliamentary questions to both entities about the circumstances surrounding applications being found in this way, the number of applicants affected and what SASSA has done/is doing about those affected.

There seems to be no end in crises facing the SASSA grant payment system, with beneficiaries who are poor, vulnerable and desperate being on the receiving end of this unfortunate situation during the lockdown.

The DA will not tire in its efforts to ensure the poor and vulnerables' livelihoods are not compromised by the ANC government’s ineptitude, irresponsible behaviour and sheer lack of caring for the sector of society whose voices have been silenced by poverty, hopelessness and desperation.

Issued by Bridget Masango, DA Shadow Minister of Social Development, 20 August 2020