Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Social Development has urged South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) gold card beneficiaries who could not migrate to the Postbank black card to apply to a bank of their choice to receive their social grants.
The committee’s remarks come after the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) issued an instruction to the Postbank, to indefinitely stop the issuing of the cards on their sites.
The SARB has also instructed Postbank to ensure that beneficiaries who have not migrated to the black cards can use their gold cards, receive their grants and that there is minimal disruption.
“The suspension of the issuing of the Postbank black cards poses a disadvantage to the many beneficiaries who are yet to receive their cards.
While we understand the complexities that surround this process, it is important to ensure that assurance is given to beneficiaries that there will be no disruptions in their use of the gold card and that they will receive their monies,” said Chairperson of the committee, Bridget Masango.
In addition, Masango said the committee will continue to closely monitor the process, to ensure that beneficiaries are not disadvantaged at all by the suspension of the issuing of black cards.
Meanwhile, SASSA has dismissed as misleading social media posts and screenshots claiming that the Old Age Grant will be stopped in May if certain documents are not updated by 30 April 2025.
According to the agency, the spread of such information is unfortunate, and they create unnecessary panic to beneficiaries, particularly the vulnerable and have urged those responsible to stop sharing them.
“We appeal to our beneficiaries to only rely on credible sources of information on our official social media pages.
Before anyone can share any information pertaining to social grants, they must first verify its authenticity to avoid disseminating false information that may cause anxiety and stress to our beneficiaries,” said SASSA spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi.
