The Portfolio Committee on Social Development heard on Wednesday that the R600 million budget cut will impact the operations of the South African Social Seurity Agency (Sassa).
Sassa’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms Totsie Memela, informed the committee that the Covid-19 pandemic increased the need for social assistance drastically, and that 10 million applications for the social relief package were received.
Sassa and the National Development Agency came to brief the committee on their annual performance plans. The Minister of the Department of Social Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu, led the delegations and informed the committee that Covid-19 uncovered a lot about the real lived experiences of the people. “We should commit ourselves to improving the lives of our people,” she said.
The committee sought clarity on a number of issues, including huge chunks of the budget going to compensation of employees, challenges related to the R350 payments, anti-corruption unit within Sassa, irregular expenditure, and the impact the budget cuts will have on the entire portfolio.
Committee Member, Ms Liezl van der Merwe, applauded the Department of Social Development and Sassa for approaching Cabinet and the National Treasury with the view to extend the R350 grant. She sought clarity on whether the six million deserving beneficiaries had received their payments. She said: “Some beneficiaries had claimed on social media that some payments in some months had been skipped.”
Committee Member, Ms Bridget Masango, was concerned about the budget cuts and said there was a higher need for the services of Sassa due to Covid-19. “What is the projected value of the child support grant in the 2022/23 financial year in light of these cuts? It seems the child support grant is being reduced when we are in need of more,” she asked.
Committee Member, Alexandra Abrahams, wanted to know what Sassa was doing in attempting to recover debt owing to Sassa in order to offset the budget cuts? She said it was crucial for Sassa not to do anything that will compromise the poor, including bowing to demands of labour unions.
The response was that there had always been a fraud strategy and that all was needed was a proper gatekeeping strategy to eliminate all fraud. Sassa revealed that beneficiaries getting paid through the South African Post Office (SAPO) were stringently validated, as 70% of clients used SAPO. “We should have efficient mechanisms to recover erroneous payments and we need to ensure that there is consequence management,” Ms Memela said.
Chairperson of the committee, Mr Mondli Gungubele, said the committee noted that the Auditor-General’s report on the entities was not good. “The things raised in that report are things that could be done; the matter requires urgent attention,” he pleaded.
By Sibongile Maputi
7 May 2021
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