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Members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament’s Standing Committee on Social Development will visit the newly-opened offices of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Khayelitsha in the coming days. This follows a weeks-long disruption of services which caused untold disruption to SASSA clients in the area.

SASSA’s Khayelitsha branch in Julius Tsolo Street closed unexpectedly on the 14th of July when the building housing the facility was closed for maintenance. While the building’s other occupant, the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD), made a seamless transition to another site with zero disruption to its services, SASSA failed to do so. After the hastily procured interim facility acquired by SASSA was found to be unfit for purpose, the agency simply suspended operations, leaving thousands of clients stranded without vital and lifesaving grants.  The question of why the DSD was able to make suitable alternative arrangements when SASSA was not remains unanswered.

SASSA then continued to flounder for almost a month, leaving residents either with no grants, or facing expensive journeys to SASSA offices in Mitchells Plain. It was only due to the City of Cape Town offering one of its properties, the Kuyasa Sub-council office, to SASSA  that operations have been able to resume. As can be seen from these events, it is vital that the agency is monitored to ensure that it conducts its mandate.

MPP Dan Plato said: “While I welcome the resumption of SASSA’s services to Khayelitsha residents, we must ensure that the damage caused by this closure is minimised, and that an interruption of this kind does not occur again. This visit will help with both of these criteria by allowing us to inspect the services currently offered to Khayelitsha residents, and to hold SASSA to account for providing anything less than the highest standards of service.

I have also addressed parliamentary questions to the provincial Minister of Social Development to identify similar circumstances at other facilities which the DSD shares with SASSA. While SASSA is not a competency of the Western Cape Government, it is vital for the wellbeing of the Province’s citizens that the Provincial Parliament continues to perform oversight of the agency to ensure that it continues to deliver services to clients without any delays or interruptions."

Issued by Dan Plato, MPP - DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Social Development