Poor communication from SASSA causes panic for pensioners – Black Sash

CapeTalk’s Clarence Ford speaks with Thandi Henkeman, Western Cape Regional Manager of Black Sash.

Listen below:

Social grant recipients, who allegedly have additional income sources, have until the end of July to present their cases to the South African Social Services Agency (SASSA).

If they fail to do so their grants will be permanently cancelled, and they may face fraud charges.

About 210,000 recipients are under investigation for potentially having undisclosed incomes, causing significant distress for pensioners with flagged accounts.

Several pensioners are set to protest at the Grey Building in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, on Friday, 11 July, to demand clarity amid suspension threats, according to Cape Town ETC.

Many fear they may unfairly lose their grants even though they met the requirements when they first applied.

Henkeman says there has been poor communication from SASSA, and many beneficiaries may not know what income they are allowed when they apply for the grant.

Depending on the grant, the annual income you are allowed to have may vary.

Henkeman says that for the disability grant, the threshold for a single person is R107,880.

However, many may not apply for the grant because they believe that the threshold for all permanent grants is R65,000 based on other communication from SASSA.

RELATED: Flagged SASSA beneficiaries must present case or grants will be cancelled

“Correct information is so pivotal and really does affect our beneficiaries at large.”

- Thandi Henkeman, Western Cape Regional Manager - Black Sash

She says that other recipients may find their grants suspended because they receive money from family members and do not realise that this does not mean they are disqualified from receiving their grants.

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