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The Public Servants Association (PSA), representing more than 250 000 public-sector employees, is disheartened by reports that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) suffer from a 62%-vacancy rate, which impacts on the provision of professional service delivery. 
 
SASSA confirmed that it is facing a critical staff shortage, with less than 50% of permanent positions filled in local offices. The shortage is contributing to long queues and delays in social-grant services, raising concerns regarding service delivery. The reported staff shortage at the SASSA has a direct impact on PSA members who are experiencing pressure to deliver services with fewer staff members. It further prejudiced the most vulnerable, as applications are not timeously processed.
 
The PSA calls on the Department of Social Development to prioritise adequate resources to SASSA to fill all funded positions. The PSA is concerned that the shortage of staff has led to an increased workload for remaining employees. With an already overstretched workforce managing a high volume of beneficiaries visiting local offices daily, some of beneficiaries leave local offices without receiving any assistance owing to understaffing. The Department of Public Service and Administration has since withdrawn Circular 49 of 2023, which activated cost-containment measures. Therefore, the expectation is that all vacant funded posts should be given utmost priority to be advertised. To address this, SASSA needs to prioritise recruitment for open positions and create a more efficient process. Additionally, SASSA should explore solutions to support the current team, such as offering flexible hours, providing more training or implementing temporary incentive programs to reward them for extra efforts.
 
The PSA therefore demands that SASSA takes immediate action to ensure that more than 10 900 vacancies across the country are filled without any delay.

Issued by the Public Servants Association