Warning! If you’re a SASSA R350 grant beneficiary PLEASE READ THIS
SASSA has announced that beneficiaries of the R350 grant should make new applications because the national agency needs to make new verification updates on its system, the Chief Executive Officer Busisiwe Memela-Khambula said on Tuesday.
SASSA REQUESTS NEW R350 GRANT APPLICATIONS
While the public warmly welcomed the extension of the grant payments to continue until March 2022, many previous applicants are likely to feel disappointed by this request to make new applications.
Memela said the decision had to be taken because verification system changes have been made.
“The decision is based on lessons learned. There are things that did not work in the past that made the process frustrating for our people,” Memela-Khambula said.
“We introduced the new payment system but still needed to find ways to improve it to make it more effective.
“We want people to know that they can now issue their bank accounts upfront but people can still choose to continue getting paid through the Post Office.
The CEO added to say making new applications will help to make people understand why some applicants do not qualify for the R350 SASSA grants and what they need to do after.
Memela-Khambula said the government wants to make the process quicker and better than it had done before.
“People that are already in the system will make more updates that are key,” she added.
SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY STRUGGLE
Memela-Khambula said that Non-Government Organisation will be set out to go into rural areas to support people in accessing the R350 SASSA grants. There will also be a deployment of young social leaders to offer added assistance on the ground.
“It was said that our people were not going to understand the technology needed to apply but we received 10 million applications even though we were paying six million people.
“As much as people may not have data and the internet to make applications, I do not believe that people don’t know how to use technology. We paid six million people despite the challenges that were indicated upfront,” she concluded.