THERE was chaos oral innie Kaap as mense waited in long queues to switch their Sassa cards ahead of the month-end deadline.
Long lines were seen in Parow, Wynberg and Paarl.
As of 1 March, the current gold Sassa card will no long be accepted and vulnerable Sassa grant beneficiaries – the old and disabled – are being frustrated by a lack of service points.
A beneficiary who did not want to be named said endless queues at a Parow site was evident of the “disregard for the vulnerable”.
The anonymous Cape local says: “Most beneficiaries are the aged and disabled who are now forced to have to go to limited sites to stand and wait in long queues for hours on end.
“I hardly have money to travel, but have to come back again as I know I won’t be seen to today. Nobody knows the reasoning behind it. We just have to chop and change, and call because we need financial assistance.
“It is no way to treat the vulnerable.”
Earlier on Wednesday, provincial Department of Social Development MEC, Jaco Londt, visited a Paarl site at a shopping centre where people can replace their cards.
Londt says: “We have heard many complaints about this particular site.
“On Monday, there was no Postbank official to assist grant beneficiaries, and on Wednesday, the official only arrived after 1pm.
“It is unacceptable that we have poor service like this when there is a 28 February deadline looming for the expiration of gold cards.
“Luckily today, two Postbank officials are there and we do hope they’ll be able to help as many people as possible – especially those who travelled far distances to be here.
“Even though Sassa and Postbank don’t fall under the Western Cape Government [they are national entities], we have been trying very hard to get clarity from both entities so we may communicate to residents.
“We have also been inundated with queries and complaints from grant beneficiaries.”
Postbank spokesperson, Bongani Diako, said efforts are being made to reach all beneficiaries by the deadline date.