September Sassa grants all paid up – Gungubele

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele gave an update at a press briefing in Tshwane on Thursday, in which he said that Postbank had assured him that all affected beneficiaries had received their grants.

“All Sassa (South African Social Security Agency) grant beneficiaries whose accounts were adversely affected by these system challenges on the 5th and 6th of September have now been corrected.

“These funds are readily available in the accounts of these beneficiaries, and if not withdrawn, can be accessed through bank ATMs, retailers, and Post Office branches,” Gungubele said.

This was not the first time this year that beneficiaries were unable to access their funds.

Postbank also reported a glitch in January.  

On Thursday, the communications minister moved to dispel what he said was misinformation making the rounds about why the Postbank experienced the so-called “glitch”.

“The root cause of Postbank’s system challenges that affected the September social grants payments to some beneficiaries, which have now been resolved as of the 6th of September, relates to Postbank’s migration to a new system.

“Postbank’s systems upgrade program, of which the recent migration forms a component thereof, has been unfolding for a while in line with its 2022/23 as well as 2022/23 Corporate Plans, and it is also a South African Reserve Bank requirement as part of Postbank’s banking license application process,” he added.

Gungubele also warned beneficiaries against believing claims the delayed payments, and in some instances, the erroneous deductions from accounts were because of the expired Sassa cards. 

The Reserve Bank granted an extension on the Sassa cards until December this year, and Gungubele said the public would be regularly informed about any developments in the card replacement program.

Earlier this week, the DA lodged an urgent complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission against Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, who was absent from the briefing.

The only explanation offered for her absence was that she was “in transit”.

Zulu had previously blamed Postbank for the payment disaster during her appearance before members of Parliament but later said she remains confident the agency was still capable of assisting her department and Sassa in upholding their constitutional mandate to pay out social grants.

READ: DA lodges complaint with SAHRC over non-payment of grants

Meanwhile, Gungubele assured citizens that the mass resignation of the Postbank board would not affect day-to-day operations.

The bank’s chief executive officer Nikki Mbengashe, who was appointed in July, said they were now focused on ensuring that a repeat of the September system failure would not be repeated in the future.

She again reported that all the necessary tests were conducted before the IT migration.

He and Zulu, as well as the two agencies (Sassa and Postbank), had recognised the need to embark on a joint communications campaign targeting areas – to ensure that communities were given credible information about services.

ALSO READ: