Question NW63 to the Minister of Social Development
19 March 2024 - NW63
Masango, Ms B to ask the Minister of Social Development
(1)What number of days constitute the period between (a) the date on which the SA Social Security Agency requests life status confirmations from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and (b) the date grant payments are made to grant beneficiaries once the DHA has confirmed life status; (2) whether she intends to take steps to shorten the time frame of confirming life status; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details in this regard?
Reply:
1. (a) As stated in my reply to Parliamentary Question 4207, SASSA works closely with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on data validation and conducts monthly checks to confirm the life status of clients before a payment file is generated on a monthly basis.
b) The life status (proof of life) confirmation is sourced from DHA on the day that the payment file is generated. If proof of life is confirmed, payment is included in the payment file and effected for that month. Using February 2024 payment as an illustration, the process is as follows:
Step 1: On the third weekend of the month payment file is extracted (26-28 January 2024) – It must be noted that due to the controls and volumes of the payment file, the payment file is done over the weekend when there is no production work being processed.
Step 2: The payment file is quality assured and approved on Monday (29 January 2024)
Step 3: Tuesday (30 January 2024), SASSA sends payment file to Bankserv – Bankserv requires the payment file 2 days before payment date
Step 4: Thursday (1 February 2024) – is reserved for National Treasury administrative processes
Step 5: From Friday (2-5 February 2024) – Payment starts. If the 1st day of payment falls on a Monday, payment is moved to Tuesday to enable retailers and banks to ensure sufficient cash circulation within the industry. The 5-step process is necessary to ensure the right person is paid. It must be noted that the above will still not resolve the challenge of late death notifications by families to Home Affairs, which implications for SASSA.