Question NW540 to the Minister of Social Development:

Reply:

a) SASSA has commenced planning for the rolling out of alternative power supply country wide. The first phase will start at the beginning of the 2023/24 financial year and the second phase at the third quarter of the same financial year.

During the first phase, an appropriate alternative power supply will be considered for each local office, e.g., generator, solar, backup power, etc. For implementation of the phase, SASSA has identified ninety (90) critical local offices country wide (ten per region). However, in the medium term, SASSA plans to develop a strategy to roll out alternative power supply in all local offices across the country.

It is anticipated that the procurement processes for the first phase will be finalised by the end of the second quarter (30 September 2023). The second phase which involves the initial rollout will commence by 01 October 2023. This process will be completed before end of the 2023/24 financial year.

Due to the emerging national crisis, a task team has been established to focus on priorities and develop a strategy for implementation of alternative power supply roll out for 2024/25 financial year. This will ensure that scaling up is in line with the strategy and also allow for sufficient funds to be secured for this project.

b) An amount of R44 million is budgeted for in 2023/24 financial year. R29 million of the funds will be utilised to secure alternative power supply and R14 million will be used for local office improvements which will include, physical accessibility, branding, provision of dignity services and network connectivity for 54 offices.

It is important to note the needs of each office are unique therefore assessments must be done for all offices to ensure specifications are accurate before the supply chain processes begin.

The strategy will inform the second phase (2024/25) of the roll out which will also determine the allocation and availability of funds.