Only 4.7% SASSA branches answer their phones
13 November 2023
Only 4.7% of the more than 200 South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) branches that the DA contacted nationwide answered their telephones. This is greatly alarming, as it means that SASSA social grant recipients are unable to contact their local branches for assistance or information. This leaves vulnerable beneficiaries helpless in the event of queries or concerns, as was the case with the September grant payments that left 600 000 older persons grant recipients without funds due to a Postbank payment glitch.
The DA contacted a random sample of 50% of the SASSA branches across the country. Of the 212 branches, only 48 (22.6%) had a working telephone line, while the remainder had outdated numbers or no telephone numbers available at all.
We searched for SASSA branch telephone numbers on the same platforms grant recipients could reasonably expect to find the information – the registry on SASSA’s website, the Yellow Pages, as well as Google.
It is very concerning that Mpumalanga has zero working telephone lines, while the North West has only one.