The GOOD Party has lambasted the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) for what it describes as “systemic cruelty” towards grant beneficiaries, following confirmation that thousands of payments have been delayed pending a national review process.
According to GOOD Secretary-General Brett Herron, the delays—affecting vulnerable recipients with grants under review—are not only unacceptable but dangerous.
“For a family living hand-to-mouth, even a one-day delay in receiving income can mean the difference between eating and going hungry,” Herron said in a press statement. “This is not administrative oversight, it is systemic cruelty.”
SASSA claimed that no grants have been cancelled, only postponed. But the GOOD Party argued that the agency’s failure to notify recipients using current contact information resulted in unexpected disruptions. Many affected individuals only discovered their grant status after checking bank accounts or Postbank ATMs.
“Now SASSA expects these same people to present themselves in person for re-verification—or risk suspension,” Herron added.
The party criticized the agency’s increasingly “punitive” approach, suggesting that a policy of policing the poor has replaced a duty to protect them.
Herron also highlighted concerns around the controversial use of algorithms to profile Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant applicants and flagged the pressure to deliver savings as another harmful practice.
“The State has no business treating social assistance as a favour instead of a constitutional right. Poverty is not a crime,” he said.
GOOD’s Demands
The party is calling on government to:
- Immediately resolve delayed payments to grant beneficiaries.
- Avoid suspensions unless valid contact and notice procedures are followed.
- Ensure that reviews do not infringe on the dignity and rights of recipients.
- Recommit to the rollout of a permanent Basic Income Grant.
SASSA has yet to respond to the GOOD Party’s statement.
