NATIONAL NEWS - Cabinet has expressed a sincere apology to beneficiaries of social grants affected by the delays in the current social grant payment cycle.
“Cabinet appreciates that social grants are a lifeline to the most vulnerable members of our society and therefore such inconvenience is regretted very much,” Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane said during a post-Cabinet media briefing held in Tshwane on Thursday, 5 July.
Mokonyane said that Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu has assured Cabinet that the technical glitches were a result of the transition of the payments from an old system to a new South African Social Security Agency/South African Post Office system.
“She [Shabangu] has assured Cabinet that most of the affected beneficiaries have since been paid. Meanwhile, dedicated teams are working hard to stabilise the systems to prevent a recurrence of such delays in the future.”
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and South African Post Office (SAPO) are currently facilitating a card swap from the old SASSA/Grindrod cards to the new SASSA/SAPO by the end of August.
The changing of cards is currently taking place at identified venues, including pay point stations, community halls and SAPO branches.
SASSA is also in the process of phasing out Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), as directed by the Constitutional Court and introducing the South African Post Office (SAPO) to pay social grants.
Article: SAnews.gov.za
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