sassa temporary disability grant 2024-2025

sassa temporary disability grant 2024-2025

According to the South African Social Security Agency, recipients of temporary disability assistance would have to wait six months before they can renew their grants (SASSA). Representatives of SASSA said that the delay was due to a shortage of medical professionals who could evaluate grant recipients, and National Treasury allegedly prevented the hiring of extra employees.

The backlog was exposed today during SASSA’s presentation before the Standing Committee on Social Development of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. While SASSA was initially asked to explain the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant’s late payment, it was also discovered that the agency faced serious difficulties in renewing temporary disability grants. SASSA representatives stated that its assessors were completely scheduled until August and that there were no imminent plans to increase the amount of medical staff available.

During the meeting, a number of other topics were raised. Only 16 offices provide service to the Western Cape, leaving many remote towns without an office and requiring recipients to make expensive and time-consuming trips to pick up their payments. The policy of SASSA, which requires SRD grant recipients to reapply for their awards, as well as issues with the online application process was also brought up by a number of committee members.

“SASSA’s allegations before the committee this morning are very distressing,” said Dan Plato, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Social Development. Because of the six-month backlog in medical assessments, grant recipients who are needed to undergo reassessment will not be able to do so until later in the year and will get no grants in the meanwhile. This deprives some of our society’s most vulnerable people of the money to which they are entitled and on which they rely to purchase basic necessities. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the National Treasury appears to have decided to disregard the problem and put a hold on the appointment of fresh medical personnel to this position.

We cannot abandon the crippled as a society or as a government. As the Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, I have urged SASSA to write to National Treasury to address this issue, and I will continue to track SASSA’s progress in clearing this backlog.

Temporary disability grant reapplications & overcrowding at SASSA: update with Minister

Out of the 213 450 lapsed TDGs, SASSA reinstated 16 024, with the majority of the reinstatements taking place in the Western Cape. For an eight-hour shift, DSD and SASSA have hired doctors to see up to 80 customers for assessments. The TDG medical reassessment procedure, which must be finished by 31 March 2021, has been given R32 307 557 by SASSA.

• Risk of not finishing all lapsed TDGs by March 31, 2021; Limited availability of community halls; Limited availability of doctors/fatigue of healthcare professionals; Temporary closure of offices due to risk of staff contracting the virus; Limited number of people that can be accommodated at service points; Criminals queuing and selling spaces.

SASSA had implemented a number of short-term initiatives to reduce these risks. More communication via radio channels, telephonic bookings, call center assistance, mobile offices, volunteers to assist in queues, updated website, and social media information, additional service facilities, and engagements with traditional authorities, churches, and non-governmental organizations were all part of this (NGOs). SASSA proposed a combined Committee meeting with the South African Post Office (SAPO) to develop a detailed grant payment plan.

The Minister, the Department of Social Development (DSD), and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) provided an update on the progress made since the committee meeting on January 21 in resolving the issue of expired Temporary Disability Grants (TDG) and office overcrowding at SASSA.

Regarding the Committee’s earlier raised concerns about the ability for medical reassessment, poor communication, and SASSA’s capacity to manage client numbers and specific interventions to address these concerns, DSD and SASSA provided a follow-up report.

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