Disability and old age grants to be paid earlier - Sassa
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) will pay out disability and old age grants earlier than expected in April to minimise foot traffic at pay points.
People with disabilities and the elderly will now we be able to collect their funds on the 30th and 31st of this month.
Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi says this measure by the Department of Social Development comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa's declaration of a national state of disaster to help curb the spread of coronavirus.
Among the new regulations is the cap on gatherings of more than 100 people - a number often exceeded by grant beneficiaries at a number of pay points at the start of each month.
"After extensive engagement with various stakeholders in this instance especially in the banking sector, the retail sector and so on, we've realised that it's very much important as organisation to make sure that we minimise numbers of people who would be coming to get their money on the 1st," says Letsatsi.
"We don't want to have as many people as possible so we're just trying to make sure that we protect in particular old people and people with disabilities."
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Letsatsi also urged grant beneficiaries to rather make card payments if possible.
"People have the right to get their money using their preferred payment option so if they want to go to the banks they would have the right to do but what we have been encouraging people to do is that let us not all of us flock on the 1st of April to the banks or to the merchants.
"What we can assure our people is that their money is safe, their money will be in their account, no one will have access to it so they can try to ease the congestion by going to get their money on any other day," Letsatsi adds.
Other beneficiaries will still have to wait for the 1st of the month.
"All other forms of grants will take place on the 1st of April like all other months," says Letsatsi.
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