“Sassa would like to emphasise that there is no need to rush to withdraw cash on the first day of payment because once the money is in the account it will remain there until it is needed.”
This is the plea of Free State spokesperson of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), Motshewa Maleka.
According to Maleka, Sassa grants will be staggered for the month of June to promote social distancing. There will be different dates for the payment and collection of various grants this week.
Old age and disability grants will be paid out on Wednesday and Thursday respectively while child grants will be paid on Friday.
“To manage and avoid congestion, older persons who receive old age grants are encouraged to go on 3 June 2020 to collect their grants, and people who receive disability grants should collect on 4 June 2020. Child support, foster care and care dependency grants will be paid from 5 June 2020,” she said.
According to the agency temporary disability grants that have expired from February 2020 onwards, will be extended until October 2020.
The spokesperson said that during lockdown Sassa local offices have specific dates on which they attend to selected grants.
“On Mondays and Tuesdays local offices strictly attend to applications for old age grants only. On Wednesdays and Thursdays local offices strictly attend to applications for child support and foster care grants. Fridays are reserved for admin purposes as well as to deal with referred cases from previous days,” said Maleka.
“It is compulsory for all clients to wear a face mask when visiting Sassa offices,” she added.
For further details pertaining to general social grants enquiries, call the Sassa Free State customer care number 051 410 8339 or Sassa toll-free call centre number 0800 60 10 11.
Nomaqhawe Mtebele
