/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the extension for beneficiaries to transition from their gold SASSA cards to Postbank black cards, now set for 20 March 2025.

The DA believes that the extension of barely a month is insufficient time to ensure that all SASSA gold cards be switched to Postbank black cards, and will leave many social grant beneficiaries without access to their social grants.

The extension also fails to address the deeper, systemic issues impacting social grant beneficiaries nationwide.

The truth is that this deadline extension, which is just weeks away, will do little to ease the considerable frustrations, confusion, and access barriers many beneficiaries encounter.

Millions of beneficiaries still rely on their SASSA gold cards and their efforts to swop to Postbank black cards have been continuously thwarted by the South African Social Security Agency's (SASSA) inability to ensure that Postbanks and retailers have staff and cards available to perform the switch.

While SASSA now claims that beneficiaries without Postbank black cards will have access to their grants at Post Offices, Post Offices across the country are closing down and many rural communities have no nearby Post Offices any more. How are these beneficiaries meant to access their grants? SASSA is simply throwing them to the wolves.

The issue goes beyond the deadline; it highlights SASSA’s inability to effectively plan, resource, and execute this transition. Extending the validity of the SASSA gold cards without addressing the underlying causes of this crisis only prolongs the frustration and anxiety many beneficiaries are already feeling.

The DA emphasises that the responsibility for this crisis lies squarely with SASSA. Despite multiple extensions, this is not the first instance where social grant beneficiaries have been negatively impacted by the card swap.

SASSA has had plenty of time to learn from previous errors and develop a rollout plan that ensures no one is overlooked. Instead, we witness the same problems recurring, with beneficiaries being shuffled around, struggling to make sense of the confusion and inefficiency of the process.

It is troubling that SASSA is only now recognising the need for mobile offices and additional support, when these solutions should have been implemented long ago.

The DA once again calls on SASSA to extend all SASSA gold cards until every social grant beneficiary in need of a Postbank black card has received one. It is the only way to ensure that social grant beneficiaries are able to reliably access their grants.

Issued by Alexandra Abrahams MP - DA Deputy Spokesperson on Social Development