MAHIKENG MAIL - MAHIKENG: SASSA Chief Executive Officer, Themba Matlou said SASSA did not pay any illegal foreigners or immigrants, but pays any one who is eligible and qualifies for SASSA grants. This follows after numerous accusations that SASSA was paying illegal foreign nationals and immigrants.
He explained this last Thursday, 7 August, during a media engagement and a visit to the Mahikeng Local Office where he interacted and assisted social grant beneficiaries who face certain challenges.
Recently, SASSA has been facing allegations including fraud, corruption, long queues, grant beneficiaries not being verified and communication breakdown which disproportionately affects vulnerable beneficiaries, particularly the elderly and those in rural areas.
In addressing these challenges, the Agency said it will leave no stone unturned in improving operations in local offices and ensure that the beneficiaries are not inconvenienced by the ongoing social grants reviews. Further to this, a number of SASSA executives were dispatched to various offices across the country to offer a helping hand in local offices and ensure that the August payment cycle runs smoothly.
The CEO has expressed satisfaction at the social grants review processes and the overall operations at SASSA local offices in North West.
“In my visit to North West, I did not pick up on any serious issues and our beneficiaries received their grants without any hindrance - our staff has been at the top of their game, including the merchants. We are satisfied by what we found and we seem to have overcome the teething problems that we experienced in the last few months,” said Matlou.
In addition, Matlou said that the few beneficiaries that did not receive their grants came to the offices for review and they were assisted speedily, stating that SASSA systems are gradually improving.
