Cape Town - Arrangements for a permanent facility to accommodate the Khayelitsha SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) office are expected to be finalised soon.
This was announced on Tuesday by Social Development Department Minister Lindiwe Zulu during a service delivery oversight at the temporary facility, Khulani Resource Centre.
Thousands of Sassa grant recipients in and around the area were left in the lurch for nearly three weeks in July after services were interrupted at the branch due to sudden closure for renovations, without public notice.
Sassa has been sharing the building with the provincial Department of Social Development’s (DSD) for more than a decade.
DSD made alternative arrangements to continue providing services to the residents.
“The process to secure a permanent office is taking longer because it’s not easy for Sassa or DSD to just get a place on their own. There are other government processes, we need to work with the department of public works to acquire properties. Also if you go to other provinces the issue of finding offices does not necessarily always remain as an issue for the national.
“I personally don’t like politicising, but even in getting these temporary facilities, Sassa management informed me that they went through unnecessary difficulties to reach an agreement. We need to put people first. I’m hoping that in the future if another problem comes up, there will not be long negotiations,” said Zulu.
She added she was also briefed that Sassa management in the province was working hard with the provincial department and were hoping there would be permanent Sassa offices between October and November.
Asked about the poor communication to residents and lack of planning to prevent interruptions, Zulu admitted that the provincial Sassa management had dropped the ball.
“The closure did result in a backlog but it has been dealt with and it’s no longer a big problem. The purpose of this visit is to assess progress on the effectiveness of the business continuity plan. The first thing I said to the Sassa chief executive officer was to improve communication with clients because they knew ahead of time about the renovations.
I have given the directives that this must not happen again because there are various platforms to communicate. We must always be sensitive to the wellbeing of our people,” said Zulu.
Workers, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation said while they were able to be productive and service people at the Khulani Resource Centre, it was cold and leaked when it rained.
“It seems there could be an electrical problem because the plugs trip sometimes. It would help if the problem of the leaks could be sorted,” a worker said.
Resident Nozolile Mvuzo, 56, said they were happy with the service on Tuesday and the line was moving quicker compared to other days.
On August 15 Mayco member for economic growth James Vos announced that they had reached a three-year lease with Sassa for a second facility.
Vos said the two floors in the Kuyasa sub-council office was expected to be used by Sassa from Thursday.
Cape Times