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Gungubele says plans are in place to avoid another grant payment crisis

todaySeptember 22, 2023 92

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Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, says they have started preparing for October grant payments to avoid the chaos beneficiaries endured this month.

He was giving an update on the payments, alongside his Social Development counterpart, Lindiwe Zulu, on Thursday.

September has been a terrible month for grant beneficiaries as challenges the government has blamed on a technical glitch, forced thousands of Postbank Gold Card SASSA holders to borrow money from loan sharks to put bread on the table.

Gungubele has assured the social grant beneficiaries that they do not need to withdraw all their money at the same time, saying it will still be there when they want it.

Gungubele says Postbank has assured them that all beneficiaries have now received their funds for September.

The Minister has once again apologised for the chaos.

He also used the address to dismiss,  as fake, social media claims that the grant payment delays were due to other causes other than the technical problems government has blamed for the inconvenience.

Earlier this week, the DA lodged a formal complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) against Zulu over the SASSA crisis.

The official opposition says Minister Zulu has not only failed millions of beneficiaries, but also returned more than R15 billion to Treasury in unpaid R350 grants.

According to a statement by the party, “These ongoing failures have resulted in an alarming human rights violation, with mothers being compelled to abandon their babies due to their inability to feed them, creating a tragic and heartbreaking situation.”

Written by: Nokwazi Qumbisa

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