ATC091020: Report Oversight visits to SASSA office Pay points & Service Areas in the Western Cape

Social Development

REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE OVERSIGHT VISIT TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL SECURITY AGENCY (SASSA) OFFICE, PAYPOINTS AND SERVICE AREAS IN THE WESTERN CAPE, DATED 20 OCTOBER 2009

 

1. Introduction

 

The Portfolio Committee on Social Development conducted oversight on 09 September 2009 over the Western Cape SASSA regional office, Bellville and Gugulethu SASSA Service areas and Pay points in Hanover Park and Gugulethu 1.

 

The objective of the oversight visit was for the Committee to conduct an oversight into the functioning and operation of SASSA in administering Government’s social assistance programme, particularly over SASSA’sintegrated social security administration and management services.  The oversight focused on the following:

 

·         Social Grant application processes -  focusing on the use of the means test, turnaround time and overall IT system;

·         Fraud and error management strategies

·         Vacancy rate and staff capacity

·         Implementation of the Integration Community Outreach Programme (ICROP), which delivers One Stop Service to the citizens;

·         Collaboration with other government departments, such as Department of Home Affairs, Education, Health and Police;

·         State of equipments, infrastructure and vehicles;

·         Operations at the Pay points – focusing on queue management and safety.

 

The oversight visit further enabled the Committee to observe and monitor how SASSA fulfils its mandate of providing comprehensive social security. It afforded the Committee the opportunity to interact with the SASSA officials and service providers (cash payment service providers - AllPay) on matters broadly related to the above identified themes.

 

2. Briefing at SASSA Regional Office

 

The Western Cape Regional Office oversees:

 

5 Districts

16 Local Offices

5 Satellite Offices

233 Service Points

320 Pay points

701 Staff members

 

The Office administers 947 499 grant payments. In terms of its structure, it comprises of Cape Metropole 1 and 2. Cape Metropole is made up of Athlone, Bellville, Khayelitsha and Wynberg. Cape Metropole 2 is made up of Cape Town, Eerste River, Gugulethu and Mitchells Plain.

 

 

2.1 Grant growth

Table 1: Growth in beneficiary statistics

Grant type	April 2008	April 2009	August 2009
Old Age Grant	175 839	196 445	204 007
War Veterans Grant	417	377	360
Disability Grant	148 584	145 118	151 078
Foster Care Grant	27 868	28 180	29 587
Care Dependency Grant	7 850	8 415	8 816
Child Support Grant	473 550	500 782	553 651
Institutional	5	0	0
Total	834 167	879 317	947 499
Percentage increase		5.41	7.75
Grant-in-Aid	7 307	7 347	7 446
Number of children	509 268	537 377	592 054
Percentage increase		5.51	10.17

 

The table shows that from April 2008 to April 2009 the number of beneficiaries increased by 5.41% and from April 2009 to August 2009 it increased by 7.75%. In the same period the number of children on child support grant increased by 5.51% and 10.17% respectively.

 

Table 2: Targets to meet policy shift in CSG and OAG

Policy Shift	Annual target	Progress
Child Support Extension	34 775	27 189
Age Equalisation 61 & 62 years	16 199	8 503
Means test	Up to 2 million nationally
Alternative documents		389

 

Due to policy shift in Child Support Grant (CSG) (extension to 15 years) SASSA set an annual target of 34 775 and in August 2009 it had registered 27 189 beneficiaries. To respond to the policy changes in the Old Age Grant (Age equalisation of 61 and 62 years), SASSA set an annual target of registering 16 999 beneficiaries. By August 2009 it had registered 8 503 beneficiaries.

 

2.2 Payment methods

 

• SASSA has an extended service level agreement with AllPay for a period ending in the financial year 31 March 2010.
• It has a guaranteed national baseline of 2 309 990 for grant payments.
• It pays R23, 80 per cash beneficiary and R17, 50 for Sekulula card payments. However, Western Cape does not use Sekulula card payment service.
• SASSA has encountered challenges regarding the breakage of machines. Service provider does not want to invest in new machines due to short term contract they have with SASSA. SASSA still faces challenges regarding money lenders at some pay points. To address this, awareness campaigns were organised and relationships were established with key stakeholders (Financial Service Board, National Credit Authority Regulator, Department of Education and South African Police Service (SAPS) to combat illegal money lending.

 

2.3 Migration challenges

 

• SASSA is planning to advertise banking and cash payment tenders for future payments.
• Migration of beneficiaries to Post Office and Banks to be promoted as cheaper and more efficient pay out solutions.
• AllPay beneficiaries decreased from 531 163 in January to 459 033 in September 2009.
• Increasing pressure on Post Office and Bank infrastructure and this delays payment.
• Rural availability of Banking and Post Office facilities.

 

3. Visit to Hanover Park Pay point

 

Hanover Park Pay Point falls under the Athlone Local Office. It serves one of the high risk areas in terms of robbery, hence it is guarded by heavily armed security guards. In cases of robbery AllPay has a responsibility to replace the money stolen and compensate the injured to the value of R3 000. Together with SASSA and the Department of Social Development, it provides trauma counselling to the victims.  The Pay Point opens from 07H00 to 15H00 and it uses AllPay Payment System. Elderly people are given preference until 10H00 and they have their own special pay days. In the Western Cape all pay points are in community halls. Beneficiaries have payment cards that have a chip that only allows payment once a month. The chip works as a biometric scanner as it matches the beneficiary pin code with the beneficiary’s fingerprints. If the beneficiary missed the pay date he/she can receive the grant from another pay point or in the following month.

 

The challenge with the AllPay Payment System is that money is put in canisters which sometimes give problems and the money gets stuck in them and the technician has to be called. This technical problem is due to the fact that AllPay has a short term contract with SASSA and as a result it is more feasible to maintain the machine than to invest in them by buying new ones.  

 

4. Visit to Gugulethu Pay point – Ikhwezi Community Hall

 

Similarly to Hanovar Park Pay point, Gugulethu Pay point has high visibility of South African Police Service (SAPS) as it is considered a high risk area for robbery. It uses the AllPay Payment System. To better manage the problem of hawkers, the management set a rule that hawkers should be 100 metres away from the pay point. 

 

 

 

 

5. Visit to Gugulethu Service Area

 

Gugulethu Service Area falls under the Gugulethu Local Office. Gugulethu Local Office falls under the Cape Metropole District 2. Gugulethu Local Office has four service points, namely, Nyanga (open 4 days a week),Phillippi (open 4 days a week), Gugulethu 3 (open 2 days per week) and klipfontein Mission (open 1 day per week). There are 8 pay points which fall under Gugulethu Local Office. They are:

 

Nyanga/KTC – at Zolani Centre

Nyanga – at Presbyterian Church Hall

Brown’s Farm – at Community Hall

Gugulethu 1 – at Ikhwezi Community Hall

Gugulethu 2 – at Community Hall

Gugulethu 3 – at Loyola Community Hall

Crossroads – at Community Hall

New Crossroads – at Community Hall

 

5.1 Human Resources

 

Gugulethu Service Area has the following staff complement:

 

1 Office manager

1 Local office operations manager

1 Team leader

4 Supervisors

33 Grants administrators

2 Admin clerks

 

5.2 Pay Point statistics

 

The tables below show the statistics on the number of beneficiaries per pay point and per grant type and beneficiary growth served by Gugulethu Service Area:

 

Table 3: Pay point statistics

Pay point	No. of beneficiaries
Nyanga/KTC	8,194
Nyanga – Presbyterian	6,924
Brown’s Farm	9,419
Gugulethu 1	4,221
Gugulethu 2	4,582
Gugulethu 3	5,239
Crossroads	2,968
New Crossroads	1,174
Number of Beneficiaries paid: 42,770 (July) (Includes 49 unclaimed benefits)

 

Table 4: Grants in payment

Grant Type	No. of beneficiaries	Grant Amount
Old Age: R1 010	10,445	R 10,741,654
Disability Grant: R1 010	11,064	R 12,703,890
Foster Care Grant: R680	1,091	R 1,118,298
Care Dependency: R1 010	965	R  974,650
Child Support Grant: R240	46,713	R 18,454,263
War Veteran: R1 010 + R20	5	R 5,150
Care Combination: CD + FC: R1 690	34	R 57,460
TOTAL (as at the end of July 2009)	70,317	R 44,055,365

 

Table 5: Beneficiary growth

Month	2008	2009		Month	2008	2009
Applications  Completed				Applications Processed
May	1341	1526		May	1190	1860
June	1742	2365		June	1294	2340
July	1763	1526		July	1141	1534
August	1533	1777		August	1109	1875
Intake				Screenings
May	5019	6388		May	1428	2765
June	5732	6473		June	1730	1919
July	5121	6432		July	1681	2471
August	4893	6060		August	1469	2542
Migration				Turn-around time – Aug
May		1254		1 day	765	849
June		1530		10-21 days	358	1026
July		910		21 days +	16	0
August		220

 

 

5.3 Stakeholder engagements

 

The Service Area has monthly meetings with the Department of Social Development. It has regular interaction with councillors, monthly sub council meetings, quarterly community meetings, ward meetings, Allpaymeetings, pension forum meetings and meetings with Gugulethu SAPS. A stakeholder’s forum was established in partnership with Absolute Return for Kids (Ark), a non-government organisation, where all government departments meet once a month. It holds daily communication with clients in the waiting room.

 

5.4. Challenges

 

5.4.1 Influx of beneficiaries

 

To address the influx of beneficiaries, the Service Area has made the following arrangements: 

·         Use of flexi-time whereby officials start working early and sometimes finish late

·         Opened a new Satellite point in Klipfontein Mission to address the demand of the service to the community

·         SAPS is stationed at the office Monday from 7H30 to 12H00 and Wednesday and Thursday from 7H30 to 16H00

·         1 day turn-around for IGAP and 48 hour-turn around for pipeline applications

·         A District Rapid response team was established

·         Redress project whereby 20 officials from offices in the district assist Gugulethu

 

The delegation noted and was also told by the beneficiaries that there is inadequate space and sitting arrangements in Gugulethu Service Area. The delegation also noticed with concern that meat sold to the beneficiaries outside the Gugulethu 1 Pay Point is not hygienically stored (it is not covered, thus exposing it to the dust). This poses a health hazard to the beneficiaries.

 

5.4.2. Migration challenges

 

·         Post Office and Banking challenges – A large number of beneficiaries migrated to banks because the banks misinformed beneficiaries telling them that AllPay does not provide the cash payment service anymore. As a result some beneficiaries (one case was observed during the visit) claim they were migrated against their will. In addition, migration and payment thereafter depends on the banks monthly cut off points. As a result there can be a one month gap before the beneficiary receives her/his money. At most the waiting period can take up to three months.  

·         Beneficiaries not keen to migrate

 

5.4.3. Money lenders

 

Money lenders are a major problem. SASSA is working with the National Regulation Authority to organise awareness campaigns. The parliamentary delegation indicated that it is against the law for money lenders to keep people’s ID documents and payment cards as surety and SASSA can lay a charge against them. However, the AllPay official indicated that even when a charge has been laid no prosecution is done. The delegation then recommended that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) should be used to investigate money lenders and prosecution should be done to set a precedence that will have a major impact. 

 

5.4.4 Inadequate staffing levels

 

The Service Area has addressed this challenge by:

 

• Ensuring effective leadership
• Ensuring effective governance arrangements
• Ensuring interpersonal relationships workshops
• Nominating a staff member of the month who receives an engraved medal
• Organising a team building outing to Robben Island

 

5.5 Recommendations

 

The Portfolio Committee on Social Development recommends that:

 

• Health inspectors should be deployed to the Pay Point to conduct inspection on food sold to the beneficiaries.
• There should be regulations imposed on the prices charged on the goods sold outside pay points as vendors charge exorbitant prices.
• The Local Economic Affairs should conduct inspections on the prices of goods sold to the beneficiaries by local businesses.  The Committee noted with concern the level of exploitation of the beneficiaries regarding the inflated costs of goods in and around the pay points. 
• SASSA needs to address the challenge of lack of infrastructure at pay points. This comprises privacy when beneficiaries discuss personal issues with officials. The Committee recommends that SASSA should budget for this in its 2010/2011 financial year.
• The Chairperson should engage with Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee Justice and Constitutional Development and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police regarding the lack of prosecution of money lenders.

 

6. Visit to Bellville Service Area

 

Bellville Service Area is under the Bellville Local Office, which falls under Cape Metropole District 1. It has nine Service Points, which are:

 

Elsies River / Vredelust – at Civic Center and opens on Mondays

Delft – at Delft Civic and opens Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Belhar – at Minor Hall and opens on Tuesdays

Durbanville - alternate Wednesdays

Fisantekraal - alternate Wednesdays

Bonteheuwel – opens on Wednesdays

Delft South – at Library and opens on Thursdays

Yygerberg and Stikland – opens on Thursdays

Conradie care and home visits – on Fridays

 

        

6.1 Pay Point statistics

 

Bellville Service Area serves 16 Pay points. The tables below show statistics per pay point.

 

Table 6: Pay point statistics

Pay point	No. of beneficiaries	Pay point	No. of beneficiaries
Matroosfontein	8,457	Bonteheuwel	6,024
Lavistown	5,499	Ravensmead	3,804
Belhar	3,645	Parow	1,515
Kasselsvlei	1,689	Delft	8,504
Bellville	650	Goodwood	568
Durbanville	1041	Epping Industry	331
Bothasig	231	Howardplace	62
Valhalla Park	823	Klipheuwel	153
Number of Pay Points = 16 (stats until end of July 2009)		Number of Beneficiaries paid: 43,109 (including 53 death claims)

 

Table 7: Grants in payment

Grant Type	No. of beneficiaries	Grant Amount
Old Age: R1 010	24,832	R 25, 046 959
Disability Grant: R1 010	16,158	R 29, 461 852
Foster Care Grant: R680	1,842	R 2, 035 524
Care Dependency: R1 010	876	R  931 994
Child Support Grant: R240	22, 847	R 9, 524 703
War Veteran: R1 010 + R20	69	R 70, 942
Care Combination: CD + FC: R1 690	54	R 118, 139
TOTAL (as at the end of July 2009)	66,864	R 89, 586 239

 

Table 8: Beneficiary growth

Month	2008	2009		Month	2008	2009
Applications  Completed				Applications Processed
May	1104	1526		May	1029	1860
June	1197	2225		June	1196	2018
July	1211	2698		July	1364	1407
August	1581	1787		August	1286	2733
Intake				Screenings
May	4458	8142		May	2149	3002
June	5586	10925		June	2603	4391
July	5907	7071		July	2644	2281
August	7036	6128		August	3851	2202
Migration				Turn-around time – Aug
May		1254		1 day	867	839
June		750		10-21 days	419	625
July		514		21 days +	0	1269
August		456

 

6.2 Stakeholder engagements

 

•          It holds monthly meetings with the Department of Social Development regarding Service Level Agreement matters.

•          It holds meetings with other government departments (SAPS, Home Affairs) on community outreach programmes.

•          Holds monthly meetings with ARK (last Monday of month) and community organizations in Delft.

•          Organises training/Information sessions with stakeholders on eligibility criteria on request in Delft and Belhar.

•          Community Outreach Programmes are held in the following areas: Delft, Bishop Lavis, Bellville South, Belhar and Elsies River.

•          Engage with Health facilities on medical backlogs in Delft, Bishop Lavis, Bonteheuwel and Elsies River.

 

6.3. Challenges

 

6.3.1 High influx of beneficiaries

 

It has addressed the challenge of high influx by:

 

• Increasing service days in Delft, from two to three days.
• Implementing Community Outreach Programmes.
• Streamling operations.
• Arranged flexi time for some officials who start work at 07H00.
• Encourages staff to work voluntary overtime

 

6.3.2 Medical backlogs

 

• Non renewal of the contract of medical officers completing medical certificates at the clinics.
• Medicals having to be completed by medical officers attending to general patients at the clinics.
• The situation has contributed to a backlog of 2 000 cases and a waiting period of four months at certain clinics. These challenges are beyond the control of the Office as the availability and appointments of doctors depends on Department of Health.

 

Report to be considered.