Postbank in ‘CRISIS’ over 2025 SASSA card swap

The minister and her Social Development MECs have come clean about Postbank’s 2025 SASSA card swap debacle. According to a release from the South African Social Security Agency, Minister Tolashe is calling it a ‘crisis’. This follow an emergency meeting of MECs for Social Development (MINMEC) with the minister. In it, they shirked the glaring issue of still-unconfirmed SASSA grant increases for the year, following last week’s budget postponement.

However, MINMEC did want clarity from Postbank on the disastrous 2025 SASSA card swap scenario. More specifically, “Understanding the challenges being experienced with regards to the slow process of changeover for beneficiaries.” In turn, the MINMEC registered ‘unhappiness’ with the way Postbank is rolling out the 2025 SASSA card swap. “The reality is that replacement sites from Postbank across the country are insufficient,” clarified the statement.

2025 SASSA CARD SWAP

As The South African reported earlier this month, hasty announcements from SASSA/Postbank gave less than a month for elderly, disabled and remote-living beneficiaries to make provisions. Moreover, those SASSA beneficiaries that did attempt to swap Gold cards for Black early, were met with poor service at retailers. We’ve received numerous complaints from clients talking about insufficient staff/replacement cards, SASSA systems going offline and massive queues.

Furthermore, last week, SASSA and Postbank said retailers were processing roughly 10 000 2025 SASSA card swap transactions per day. While high, this is still ten-times less than is necessary to complete the task in the deadline required. At last count, the agency needs to complete roughly 100 000 2025 SASSA card swap transactions per day between now and the Thursday 20 March deadline. Combine this fact with the inconvenience of clients not knowing what their SASSA grant increases for the year will be in five-weeks’ time. And recipients, quite rightly, are very unhappy with how they’re being treated. 

VIOLATING THE DIGNITY OF BENEFICIARIES

Therefore, in a scathing attack upon Postbank, the MINMEC has called the 2025 SASSA card swap debacle a ‘violation of dignity’ of beneficiaries. “Clients are being subjected to inhumane conditions where there are no ablution facilities and extended queues exposed to adverse weather. Card issuance sites are also not well located, with many travelling from faraway places only to not be served that day due to poor capacity and logistics management,” says the MINMEC.

However, the MECs did highlight the effort of SASSA staff to help the process. SASSA will provide support to clients with alternative payment options. As well as outreach programmes in partnership with local municipalities. Minister Tolashe visited a Shoprite supermarket in Eerste Rivier where she got to see the 2025 SASSA card swap taking place firsthand. Plus, it concluded the following interventions are needed. Use of DSD provincial offices and added human resources. Contact churches and the House of Traditional Leaders to find additional sites for easy access in rural areas.

DO YOU THINK THE SWAPS CAN BE DONE IN TIME?

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