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By Mayibongwe Maqhina 
December 10, 2020
Cape Town – The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has been criticized for assigning a “core team” of 10 officials to handle appeals submitted by people whose application for R350 Covid-19 social relief grant was rejected.
This after the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, revealed in a parliamentary response to the deputy of the prosecution, Alexandra Abrahams, the number of officials handling appeals.
Abrahams had asked the number of Sassa staff assigned and dedicated exclusively to the special Covid-19 distress relief social grant appeals process, among other things.
Zulu said Sassa has no dedicated staff assigned to the special Covid-19 social distress relief appeal process.
“There is a core team of about 10 people who are driving the appeals process, in addition to the other responsibilities they have.
“An additional 24 staff members have also been assigned to assist with the capture and registration of appeals, while a minimum of two staff members per region have been trained to assist, bringing the total to approximately 52,” he said.
Zulu also said that a total of approximately 60,000 appeal emails were received, which must be addressed by Sassa staff to record and reconsider.
“To date, more than 37,000 have been registered,” he said.
DA MP Bridget Masango expressed surprise that Sassa relied on 10 staff members to handle appeals.
He said millions of unemployed and poor South Africans applied for R350 grants and many had applications rejected and legitimately started the appeal process.
“Now it is not surprising that the appeals process has been clouded by the accumulation of thousands of emails and phone calls. There has been no provision in Sassa and the Department of Social Development to incorporate temporary additional capacity to deal with this. new role and to ensure that the appeals process is handled efficiently and quickly. “
Masango also said that Sassa had already been operating a skeletal personnel operation for most of the year.
“It’s amazing how anyone would have thought this process would work without a hitch.”
He said the number of officials handling appeals raised serious concerns about Sassa’s February 28 deadline to process all R350 SRD applicants.
“Without any additional help to expedite the application process and deal with appeals, millions of South Africans will likely never have access to this much-needed relief.”
Masango said it was up to the Zulu department to show some leadership to address the challenges.
Political Bureau
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