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GNU parties trade barbs in Western Cape over Sassa’s ‘national shame’

GNU parties trade barbs in Western Cape over Sassa’s ‘national shame’
People queue to receive their social grants in Cape Town. (Archive photo: Mary-Anne Gontsana)
Suné Payne
By Suné Payne
14 Nov 2024
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Despite several comments about putting politics aside in the interest of grant recipients, politics came to the fore in a debate in the Western Cape Legislature about Sassa’s failure to deliver adequate services in the province.

Political back and forth dominated a Western Cape Legislature debate on the failures of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) in the province on Thursday, 14 November, with calls for the CEO to resign and a push for increased efforts to deliver services.

“This is nothing but a national shame,” said the Democratic Alliance’s Wendy Kaizer-Philander, the provincial legislature’s committee chair on social development, as she spoke about vulnerable people having to stand in long queues in a bid to get assistance from Sassa.

gnu western cape sassa People queue to receive their social grants in Cape Town. (Archive photo: Mary-Anne Gontsana)



Long queues at Sassa offices in the Western Cape are a perennial problem. Earlier this year, GroundUp reported that 21-year-old Lwandiso Jojiwe had collapsed while in line at the Sassa office in Bellville. He had been waiting for a form to take to a doctor, which was a requirement when applying for a disability grant.

In August, GroundUp also reported that researchers at the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town raised the alarm about the decline of infants receiving the child support grant. It said that in Gauteng and the Western Cape, between 2019 and 2024, the number of infants receiving the grant decreased by 35% and 48% respectively.

On Thursday, members of the legislature kept referring to the long lines people have to queue in, often beginning in the early hours of the morning in a bid to get help. They mentioned administrative issues including staff shortages and a lack of offices in key areas such as Khayelitsha. 

Officials from Sassa Western Cape have said that at its offices, clients with disabilities, the elderly, frail and mothers with infants are considered vulnerable and were given preferential treatment in a special queue, with officials assigned daily to prioritise the groups.

According to Social Development MEC Jaco Londt, there are 1.7 million social grant recipients in the Western Cape who received R1.9-billion in October.

“The problem is there are hundreds and thousands of people that fall through the cracks because of Sassa’s failure… And it’s not the failure of the Sassa of officials here in the Western Cape,” said Londt

“It is a national failure and it’s a failure created by the ANC government nationally.”

Grant recipients suffer


Kaizer-Philander has been a vocal critic of Sassa. “The crisis with Sassa’s failure is not merely a flaw in service delivery. It is a deep-rooted issue in the values and priorities of the former ANC-led government.”

She called on members of the legislature to join her in “calling for the resignation of the CEO of Sassa, Busisiwe Memela, who has since 2019 failed to improve the situation…”

“In fact, under her leadership, it has only gotten worse,” she claimed. 

This call was echoed by Donna Stephens, a member of the Patriotic Alliance and the social development committee. 

“When this agency falls short, it is the elderly, the unemployed people with disabilities and single mothers who bear the consequences. They are left waiting for basic support often with no alternative… The PA calls for immediate resignation of the CEO,” she said. 

Suggestions were made during the debate: to increase digitisation efforts; for public representatives to assist vulnerable residents with grant processes; and for young people to help elderly people apply online for grants.

ANC member Dawid Kamfer, who is a member of the oversight committee on social development, gave MEC Londt subtle praise. Kamfer said there was a need to “recognise” Londt’s efforts to help Sassa clients. 

Kamfer’s ANC colleague Rachel Windvogel said: “We want to see the MEC engaging with the City of Cape Town to expedite roof renovations at [Sassa’s] Eerste River office. Furthermore, we demand that the provincial government and the City of Cape Town urgently provide land for the Department of Infrastructure to build new Sassa offices in Gugulethu and Khayelitsha.”

Read more: Social Development Department will spend R266bn on social grants in 2024/25 – Minister Tolashe

‘What about the GNU?’


Despite calls for the debate to avoid politics, the DA caucus several times put the root of Sassa’s failures at the door of the previous national ANC government.

Both the DA and ANC now form part of the Government of National Unity (GNU). 

Several DA members said the ANC and Al Jama-ah were to blame for Sassa’s issues. Al Jama-ah’s president Ganief Hendricks is the deputy minister of social development while ANC member Sisi Tolashe is the social development minister. Al Jama-ah is also part of the GNU. 

“What about the GNU?” ANC member Ayanda Bans called.

Members of the ANC and DA both referred to Al Jama-ah as each others’ partner in the GNU.

“The ANC’s partner in the GNU,” shouted DA members while ANC members shouted back, “The DA’s partner in the GNU”. Al Jama-ah representative Galil Brinkhuis said, “the DA must stop playing politics.”

Speaker Daylin Mitchell eventually called members to order. At one point, he said, “Thank you, honourable members, are you finished GNU’ing?” DM

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