GOOD Media Statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
12 September 2023
The GOOD party is concerned about the growing number of reports regarding the payment failures of financial support by the South African Social Security Agency and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
Section 27 (1) (c) of the Constitution provides for the right of access to appropriate social assistance to those who are unable to support themselves and their dependents.
Our country is experiencing extreme poverty with many South Africans having limited to no access to income and relying heavily on social grants or financial aid.
By failing to distribute state funds, we are failing the most vulnerable.
Last week, NSFAS was grilled in Parliament over the roll-out of its new direct-payment system, which has caused an uproar at campuses across the county.
The system has seen numerous payment delays and is believed to have erroneously defunded thousands of students.
To date, the fund has received 170,683 financial and academic appeals from students who were defunded or rejected.
It was revealed in parliament that 58,924 students had been refunded following a review.
31,890 students still await their outcome as their appeals are “in progress” and 44,561 are required to submit more information.
NSFAS acting CEO, Masile Ramorwesi has defended the failure of this system by saying “Any new system in its year of first implementation experiences challenges”.
But it is not just our students that are struggling to make ends meet.
Over 18 million social grants are paid monthly.
But a “system error” in Postbank’s payment system left thousands, if not more, unable to access their only source of funds.
Grant recipients could not access their money from retailers or ATMs, transactions made within Post Office branches were unaffected.
The country offers eight social grants that range between R350 to R2,100 a month.
Three of these grants (Social Relief of Distress Grant; Child Support Grant and Grant in Aid) fall below the Food poverty line of R760 per person per month.
The Food poverty line is seen as the amount needed to afford the minimum required daily energy intake.
Failing to make payments on time is detrimental to people’s survival.
However, this is not the first time social grant recipients have been failed by the Postbank system.
According to human rights organisations, the Postbank payment system has been marred with technical issues since it took over payments in November 2022.
Government needs to do more to protect the most vulnerable in society.
NSFAS and SASSA oversee a combined R300-billion yearly in state assistance.
Flawed and untested systems cannot be implemented to distribute funding worth billions.
As the GOOD Party, we are extremely supportive of government social relief efforts.
In fact, as GOOD we have long advocated for the introduction of a Basic Income Grant of at least R999.
However, the government needs to improve the systems used to distribute funds.
Failing to provide a reliable service is a massive failure by both institutions and the state.
They should be ashamed.
Media Enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 082 518 3264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Samantha Jackson, GOOD Acting Media Manager
Cell: 083 550 9875
Email: media@forgood.org.za