City and Province meet with SASSA to plot the way forward for disaster relief provision

22 April 2018

On Friday 20 April 2018 a meeting was held between representatives of the City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the Western Cape Government’s Department of Social Development to discuss issues around the arrangements for dispensing social/disaster relief to residents affected by emergency incidents.

Earlier this year, SASSA announced that it had taken responsibility for the activation of humanitarian relief and conducting assessments – a task that the City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre had facilitated for a number of years on SASSA’s behalf. The change came about after SASSA reassessed its policies and procedures in funding service providers (NGOs) who provide social relief to disaster victims. There were concerns that the payments to service providers could possibly be classified as irregular expenditure in terms of the Public Finance Management Act and the SASSA supply chain management policies.

Since the changeover, there have been teething problems which have necessitated the meeting which resolved that it is in the interest of good governance and service delivery for the City, SASSA and the Western Cape Department of Social Development to co-operate and seek synergy in the arrangements for disaster relief, recognizing the respective responsibility of each organization.

Further meetings will be held to iron out problem areas and to ensure improved service delivery. The meeting ended on a positive note and it was agreed to explore the use of modern technology to aid the timeous distribution of social/disaster relief to affected residents, particularly with the onset of winter. 

Issued by Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security; and Social Services, City of Cape Town, and Sihle Ngobese, Spokesperson, Western Cape Department of Social Development, 22 April 2018