DA blocked from conducting SASSA oversight
4 July 2016
Today I was joined by my colleague, DA Shadow Minister of Social Development,Bridget Masango MP, to conduct an oversight visit at the SASSA office in Maponya, Soweto, and meet with social grant beneficiaries.
We did so to see for ourselves how the social welfare system impacts upon the real lives of the people that use it.
To my dismay, we were denied the right to do oversight by the Senior Manager, Susan Lemmer.
One is left asking, what is the Minister of “smalanyana skeletons”, Bathabile Dlamini, trying to hide from us?
From our interaction with social grant beneficiaries at the office, it was clear that SASSA is plagued by problems, with beneficiaries, including a mother with a young child, being sent from pillar to post to try and sort out issues preventing them from receiving their grant.
The DA aspires to a fair and compassionate social welfare system that helps people at their point of need.
We believe in social justice for all.
We always stand up for the right to human dignity contained in the Constitution.
We therefore support an above inflation increase on social grants, because the cost of living and food prices, in particular, are rocketing.
On average the grants are going up just over 6%, while food price inflation is predicted to rise by 11% by the South African Reserve Bank.
t is immoral that the ANC government is seeking to balance the books on the backs of poor people in Johannesburg, and throughout South Africa.
During the campaign, I’ve seen mothers struggling to put food on the table for their children every day. I am particularly concerned that children are not receiving a baseline level of calories and nutrition.
And let me be clear on a fundamental belief: the DA in government will never remove social grants as a ‘safety net.’ There will always be people who, for no fault of their own, will need a safety net. Under the DA, there is no place for the stigmatisation of people living on grants.
Arising from this, one of the most appalling practices taking place - as widely reported - is the illegal deductions from SASSA grant holders’ bank accounts.
In May this year, Minister Dlamini vowed to put a stop to illegal deductions from SASSA grant holders. However, this criminal activity has continued.
In recent times, the media have carried a number of stories about this crisis, as well as about the welcome arrests of corrupt SASSA officials – although this may, in part, be due to a vigorous PR exercise by the beleaguered department.
And in another heartrending related story, one elderly gentleman in Johannesburg was murdered at a cashpoint for his modest grants.
As the aspirant Mayor of Johannesburg, I am already thinking about how we can better protect the vulnerable. I believe that we need to prepare for the future as much as we need to fix the present. This includes creating the tens of thousands of jobs that will provide our people with a foot onto the ladder of the opportunity. This is the dignity that every South African deserves.
I have already proposed in my vision for Johannesburg that roaming service delivery teams listen to and monitor citizens’ concerns. This means that there will be a regular person-to-person, point contact which can help to inform the City’s service delivery agenda.
For too long the ANC has broken its promises and failed to uplift the poorest people in this City.
One does not need to look further than the latest Stats SA’s Non-Financial Municipalities Census which highlights the failure of the ANC run administration in Johannesburg to provide support to indigent households. The City only provides 7.36% with water, 9.66% with sewerage and sanitation, and 23.62% with solid waste management.
In contrast, Stats SA revealed that the DA-run City of Cape Town provides 100% of indigent households with these services.
A DA government is a caring government.
On 3 August vote for change that will move Johannesburg forward.
Issued by Nkele Molapo, Media Officer, 4 July 2016
