- The South African Post Office had its contract ended in the past year, after being used to pay out social grants. Not only was the contract ended, but the post office now has to face the consequences of failing to deliver services.
- A contractual agreement between the agency that administers social grants and the South African Post Office stated that there must be a “seamless transition from Post Office without interruption to the payments of social grants”.
- It is for this reason that this contractual agreement has come to its end, in an effort to make sure that the payment schedule of social grants is back to normality.
Read Also: More Than 20 Million People Relied On SASSA SRD Grant In 2022
Grant beneficiaries were advised to withdraw their funds from retailers and ATMs, this came after the Post bank took over from the Post Office.
As the availability of funds during this period were negatively impacted on, in a statement, Sassa’s Executive Manager of Grants Administration, Brenton van Vrede stated:
The Post Office was penalised 5% of their invoice for failing to provide dignity services during the affected months.
According to the government agency, this invoice was applied from April 2022 until September 2022 during the current financial year.
van Vrede has also pointed out that Sapo failed to provide adequate equipment to comply with norms and standards and also didn’t adhere to the Sassa payment schedule.
The Agency has also confirmed that it pays a service fee for the disbursement of social grants, and its as follows:
- Cash Pay Point : R188.81 per beneficiary
- SAPO branches : R72.95 per beneficiary
- National Payment System : R7.14 per beneficiary
However, this transition was not easy for beneficiaries as other issues, such as connectivity and cyber security issues surfaced.
This was witnessed during the festive season when the Postbank picked up unusual and suspicious activity on its system.
The Department of Social Development received high volume calls and messages from social grant recipients commonly complaining about not being able to access their grant monies.
Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has since raised concerns with Communications and Digital Technology Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.
Recently, Postbank executive Neo Moja said during the January 2023 social grant payment cycle there weren’t many inconveniences, and the bank will ensure that it keeps up the momentum.
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- How to Check SASSA R350 Grant Status | A Step-By-Step Guide
- Change Phone Number For R350 Grant | Complete Guide
- Change Phone Number For R350 Grant | Complete Guide
Demzyportal Category: News
