Kwatsaduza – Some South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grant beneficiaries have been confronted with confusion, uncertainty and delayed payouts.
Many of those who experienced difficulties are Postbank card holders.
On May 5, some elderly beneficiaries could not access their grants, while others received incomplete payments or were forced to replace their cards.
Catherine Nkosi (73) said she could not access her pension funds for two days.
“I tried withdrawing from different ATMs without luck. I tried different shops and even attempted cashback withdrawals.
“I visited the SASSA offices but did not get any answers,” she explained.
She said SASSA employees checked the system to confirm whether there were funds available on her card.
“They confirmed that there was indeed money on the card and that my card had not expired,” she added.
Nkosi tried again to withdraw her pension on May 6 but was still unsuccessful.
“I was already miserable, confused and needed answers. I then decided to approach the SASSA card assistants at Tonk Meter Crossing in Selcourt, who actually helped me,” she said.
“My card was discarded and I was given a new one, which ended up working.”
She emphasised that the delay affected her financially, as some of her expenses could not be paid on time.
Her main concern is whether she will encounter the same problem again next month.
Nkosi added that some elderly people travelled with money for only a one-way trip and ended up stranded after failing to access the funds they had gone to collect.
Another beneficiary, Thokozile Dladla, received her payout but discovered that R100 was missing.
“A family friend called me early in the morning on the first day of payouts to tell me that he could not access his pension.
“I panicked and asked close friends if they were also experiencing the same problem. I then made the decision to go and check if I could access my funds on May 5,” she said.
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Dladla later went to a shopping centre in Springs where she managed to receive her payout, but R100 was withheld.
She has not yet tried to withdraw the missing amount but remains hopeful that Postbank will rectify the issue.
SASSA local office manager for the Springs local cluster, Gerald Sibuyi confirmed that SASSA is aware of the issue.
“Affected beneficiaries should visit their local SASSA offices for assistance. A spreadsheet has been put in place for all the affected individuals as record.
“This spreadsheet will be sent to the reginal office for further investigation and assistance. I can confidently confirm that grants were paid to the beneficiaries account,” he said.
An enquiry has been sent to SASSA head office for detailed information.
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