Minister Tolashe agrees to take hands with Western Cape DSD to deal with SASSA/Postbank issues
On 21 February 2025, the National Minister of Social Development Ms Nokuzola Tolashe and Members of Executive Council (MINMEC) responsible for Social Development held a meeting in Cape Town.
Various issues were raised during the meeting, the most pertinent of which was arguably the SASSA/Postbank card migration process.
The Western Cape Department of Social Development – and my office in particular – has been inundated with queries and complaints from the public about this process. Although SASSA and Postbank are national entities and do not fall under the power of the Western Cape Government, I have made it my mission to continue applying pressure on the powers that be to ensure the many problems around the replacement of SASSA Gold Cards are addressed with urgency.
According to SASSA – as of 13 February, 48 142 Postbank Black Cards have been issued in the Western Cape. 287 914 beneficiaries’ SASSA Gold Cards still need to be replaced.
We have sent letters to national government to get clarity about the number of service points that will be established in the Western Cape, especially in the rural areas.
Meanwhile, SASSA says Postbank will be introducing more service points, an increase of almost 110% to 543 sites. We are fighting for the Western Cape to get its fair share of these sites.
Currently, the Western Cape’s grant beneficiaries make up roughly 11% of total SASSA customers in the country, but the province was only allocated 7% of the Postbank service points. This limitation has a compound effect on the number of customers that still need to migrate to the new PostBank card, resulting in 12% of the national outstanding card migrations existing in the Western Cape, above the national average, and which will inevitably increase unless the number of sites is drastically increased.
To give context, Free State has 6% of the total SASSA customers in the country, yet they have a 7% share of the total service points (20 sites). Gauteng has 22% of the total SASSA customers, with 31% of the total Postbank service points (89 sites).
Clearly, the Western Cape is being short-changed.
Between 4 and 13 February, the daily average of SASSA clients replacing their cards in the Western Cape was 1490. The outstanding average per site is almost 24 000. If this average continues until 20 March, Postbank will be able to assist only 52 171, which will leave 82% of the outstanding 287 914 SASSA clients that still need to be assisted in the province.
Thousands of beneficiaries will thus be left in limbo.
Today in the MINMEC meeting I advocated for at least an additional 49 service points in the province (300% increase on existing capacity) to properly service the Western Cape’s beneficiaries, bringing our total sites to 65. At the current rate and without an increase in sites, it will be impossible to meet the March deadline. The Western Cape’s SASSA grant beneficiaries deserve a fair opportunity to migrate to the Postbank Black Cards.
We also asked for a schedule of the Postbank mobile offices that will be going into these areas, as we’ve received many queries from the public about this.
I raised these issues during the MINMEC meeting, asking that National DSD and SASSA work with us so we may firstly find a solution to the issues and secondly communicate all the necessary information to the public.
Minister Tolashe agreed that we need to urgently find solutions and she has committed to meeting with us as soon as possible so we can work together on this.
I wish to thank Minister Tolashe for her willingness to take hands with us. I am hopeful that by collaborating, we can ensure that the Western Cape’s most vulnerable residents – especially those living in rural areas – are not left behind in this process.
Thank you also to my colleagues from the different respective provinces for the robust discussion. I look forward to a positive working relationship where we can all work together for the benefit of the millions of residents across South Africa who rely on social services.
Media Enquiries
Monique Mortlock-Malgas
Media Liaison Officer to Minister Jaco Londt
Department of Social Development