Johannesburg - The government says the Sassa payout delays that affected more than 600 000 elderly people have been resolved, and funds should now be in their bank accounts.
Thousands of elderly citizens and people living with disabilities had been sent from pillar to post in their quest to get Sassa grant layouts.
The government apologised and blamed this problem on technical problems at Postbank.
“We apologise profusely for what has happened. We are well aware that a number of homes survive on this grant they receive from the ANC government. We want to assure people that we are going to use improved systems so that we don’t find ourselves in a situation of being told about technical glitches,” said Zulu.
Asked if they were aware of this technical glitch, Zulu said when a new system is used, challenges are encountered.
She gave an example where there was a technical glitch in the system to pay R350 to beneficiaries during the Covid-19 period.
Unlike last week, yesterday there weren’t long queues for the elderly and people living with disabilities.
The Star spoke with Gogo Nthateng Modise from Katlehong, who said she did not bother to catch a taxi to a nearby Postbank simply because she did not have money.
“I am yet to understand why the government is not giving us our grants. With that money, I take care of my family and three grandchildren,” Modise said.
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele said the delays in social grant payments were caused by technical glitches from a systems upgrade at the South African Postbank.
He said on September 5 and 6 Postbank experienced intermittent system challenges at ATMs and retailers, leading to failed withdrawal attempts by some grant recipients for the old age and disability grants.
“The intermittent system challenges were a result of a systems upgrade the bank is introducing to provide better service,” said Gungubele.
He added: “The system challenges lead to transactions of beneficiaries resulting in incomplete errors because all the system communication time-outs, transaction and incomplete errors are common payment system errors within the banking space; however, they normally go unnoticed due to automated reversal functionality.”
On Thursday, Gungubele removed the board of directors of the Postbank following what he called the pre-emptive resignation of some non-executive directors before today’s Annual General Meeting.
This comes after a leaked letter to Gungubele suggested that an oppressive and hostile attitude was at the centre of mass resignations that included chairperson Thabile Wonci.
Wonci and several board members staged a walkout at the ailing state entity after they tendered their resignations with immediate effect.
In a media briefing, Gungubele said the South African Postbank board left because of serious allegations of illegal contracts worth no less than R140 million.
“Postbank has had a disclaimer for no less than two years… No serious-minded nation can allow a financial institution to tolerate that. Normally, financial institutions are held in the highest regard as compared to any other institution, so sensitivity and intolerance towards poor governance in those institutions must be found to be aligned with the SARB. So the state of governance there is that serious-minded leadership will not allow it to continue, and somebody has to accept responsibility; in our view, the board has to accept responsibility,” Gungubele said.
He said he was not interested in knowing why the board members opted to resign before the AGM.
The Star