Bridget Masango MP, the DA Shadow Minister of Social Development says SASSA was warned about the R350 online challenges for applicants. Photo: Bridget Masango/ Facebook.
SASSA’s smartphone requirement excludes the vulnerable – DA
In response to the smartphone SASSA application method, DA MP Bridget Masango said SASSA continuously leaves beneficiaries in the lurch
Bridget Masango MP, the DA Shadow Minister of Social Development says SASSA was warned about the R350 online challenges for applicants. Photo: Bridget Masango/ Facebook.
The DA believes the recent announcement by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) that Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant recipients need smartphones to access their payments via electronic fund transfers (EFTs) places an additional burden on vulnerable South Africans.
ALSO READ: SASSA urges those without smartphones not to pick EFT payment
DA SAYS SASSA WAS WARNED ABOUT SMARTPHONE MOVE
Bridget Masango MP, the DA Shadow Minister of Social Development said: “When the grant was first announced in 2020, the DA warned that making the application process exclusively online would exclude many potential beneficiaries who did not have access to the internet, data, or the necessary devices. The Department of Social Development (DSD) and SASSA promised that volunteers would assist those vulnerable people – alas, multitudes were still left to fend for themselves”.
ALSO READ: R350 recipients told to contact SASSA – if they receive this SMS
She added that SASSA’s requirement that only those with access to smartphones are allowed to choose certain payment methods further excludes vulnerable applicants.
Masango
“This new development will exclude millions of poor South Africans, many of whom, don’t have a mere phone – save to say a smartphone.”
ALSO READ: SASSA says more people will receive SRD grant after income threshold pushed to R624
Instead of doing their all to make access to grants easier, Masango says SASSA continuously leaves beneficiaries in the lurch through all manner of obstacles.
ALSO READ: How to track R350 SASSA grant application status on Whatsapp [Video]
“One must question if SASSA is artificially trying to reduce beneficiary numbers following a realisation that without economic stimulation and growth, the SRD grant of R350 –vital to millions – cannot be sustained indefinitely.”
“The DA will write to the parliamentary portfolio committee chairperson on social development to request that SASSA accounts for their announcement,” she vowed.
