Post Office Receives Penalty For Failing Sassa Clients

After being used to pay out social grants, the South African Post Office ended its contract last year. Due to its failure to deliver services, the contract was terminated, as well as the consequences. 

Post Office Receives Penalty For Failing Sassa Clients

 According to a contract between the South African Post Office and the agency that administers social grants, there must be a “seamless transition from Post Office without interruption of social grants payments”.

To restore normality to social grant payments, this contract has come to an end to ensure the payments are made according to schedule.

Postbank took over from the Post Office and advised grant recipients to withdraw funds from retailers and ATMs.As During this time period, Grants Administration Executive Manager Brenton van Vrede said that the availability of funds was negatively impacted:

• As a result of failing to provide dignity services during those months, the Postal Service was penalized 5% of their invoice.

During the current financial year, this invoice was applied between April 2022 and September 2022.

Additionally, van Vrede pointed out that Sapo failed to provide adequate equipment in accordance with Sassa’s payment schedule and also did not comply with its norms and standards.

According to the Agency, social grants are disbursed with a service fee of:

• Cash Pay Point  : R188.81 per beneficiary
• SAPO branches : R72.95 per beneficiary 
• National Payment System : R7.14 per beneficiary 

Other issues, such as internet connectivity and cyber security, made this transition difficult for beneficiaries.A suspicious activity was detected on the Postbank’s system during the festive season.Frequently, social grant recipients complained to the Department of Social Development that they couldn’t access their grant funds.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister of Communications and Digital Technology, has since been contacted about concerns raised by Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu.

In a recent interview, Postbank’s Neo Moja assured that the bank will ensure that the social grant payment cycle in January 2023 runs smoothly.