The DA will lodge a complaint against the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) this week after thousands of beneficiaries had to wait for more than a week to withdraw their monthly allowance due to “technical challenges”. at Post Bank.
The opposition party is now requesting an investigation into Sassa’s “continuous failure” to pay beneficiaries on time, says Bridget Masango, the DA’s spokesperson for social development.
The party does not blame Posbank, but the minister of social development, Lindiwe Zulu.
“The issue of late or non-payment of allowance is a clear violation of citizens’ rights to life, equality, dignity, food and social security. The minister has failed time and again and it is time for her to account for her lack of action.”
Masango says the DA will therefore also request a debate of national importance regarding the late payments.
“It is time for the minister to implement fixed fixed payment dates for each social grant. Beneficiaries’ lives are in turmoil because they cannot count on regularly scheduled access to their money.”
The DA accuses Zulu of never caring about the poor she was appointed to serve.
“The recent Posbank payment failure is the latest in a long series of failures to ensure that beneficiaries get their money at the appointed times, and Lindiwe Zulu’s attempt to lay the blame at the bank’s feet is disingenuous.”
The opposition party is now advising beneficiaries to open bank accounts with reputable banks to ensure better access to their money when they need it. “If the minister is not prepared to assist those who are literally begging to be helped, then it is high time that pres. Cyril Ramaphosa removed her from the cabinet and replaced her with someone who intends to fulfill their constitutional obligations,” says Masango.
