ANC government’s lack of political will to blame for long queus and choas at SASSA offices across the country
Note to Editors: This statement follows an oversight inspection by the DA Shadow Minister of Social Development, Bridget Masango MP, and the DA Member of the Social Development Committee, Angel Khanyile MP, to the SASSA De Villiers Street Office in Johannesburg.
Please find attached and English and isiZulu soundbites by Ms Masango. Pictures can be found here, here and here .
Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) visited the SASSA De Villiers Street Office in Johannesburg. The visit follows various complaints from DA activists and councillors that the country’s biggest SASSA office is in complete disarray.
The DA met with the office’s management who informed us that they have experienced a high influx of beneficiaries due to SASSA’s migration to the new grants distribution system. Beneficiaries from all over Johannesburg and surrounding areas travel to the SASSA De Villiers Street Office to have their old CPS/SASSA cards swapped for the new South African Post Office (SAPO) / SASSA cards. This is partly due to the fact that surrounding SASSA offices not having the capacity to process as many beneficiaries.
As a result, long queues and chaos have become the order of the day at the De Villiers Street Office. The blame for the chaos falls squarely at the feet of SASSA and the Department of Social Development (DSD).