Many people in South Africa were able to collect their social grants in March, but they encountered various problems when it came to doing so.
Many people who received social grants from the South Africa Social Security Administration (Sassa) in March 2023 encountered issues when they tried collecting their benefits.
Sassa has urged recipients to check if their gold cards have already expired. This could be the reason why they were unable to collect their benefits.
Those who have gold cards that are set to expire in March 2023 should contact their local Post Office to get new cards.
People who want to get new gold cards can do so at their nearest Post Office branch, which opens on March 13.
The Post Office will only give new gold cards to the individuals who have the card that has already been issued. Individuals who are not registered with Sassa grant as procurators are not allowed to collect new cards.
To get new gold cards, beneficiaries should bring their South African identity documents and the current Postbank/Sassa Gold Card, which is set to end on March 2023.
On the following dates, new gold cards will be available for collection:
- Mondays and Tuesdays (beginning Monday, March 13, 2023) will be dedicated to distributing cards to Old Age Grant and Disability Grant recipients.
- Wednesday through Saturday (beginning March 15, 2023) will be dedicated to providing cards to people receiving Child Support Grants and all other awards.
According to Sassa, people with gold cards that are set to expire at the end of the year will not be affected. Those who use these cards will still receive their grant payments.
According to the Agency, a technical issue with Postbank affected the March payment period. However, they noted that the issue has been resolved and the affected beneficiaries can now collect their grants.
To resolve the issues that affected the March payment, the agency urged the affected beneficiaries to contact the Postbank Customer Care Number: 0800 535 455.
