Cape Town - The Western Cape Ministry of Social Development reiterated its call to work with the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) in the province to provide better services.
This comes after the new Social Development MEC, Jaco Londt, visited Sassa’s provincial management this week.
Commenting after the visit, Londt said that over the coming months, the department would work to support Sassa to not only facilitate better services but resolve some of the challenges the social security agency had been inundated with in the past.
He said: “Sassa is a national function and thus does not fall under the province’s mandate. However, by working with Sassa, we can support our most vulnerable residents. Whenever we receive complaints or queries from the public to Sassa, we escalate these to the necessary Sassa officials to ensure that citizens receive help.
“As the provincial minister, I may also conduct oversight visits at Sassa offices to monitor services, and while this was the first engagement between Sassa and us, discussions revolved around the relationship between the agency and the Western Cape Department of Social Development, challenges experienced by Sassa, and ongoing solutions, and the way forward.”
Londt was encouraged by Sassa’s willingness to be open about improving the working relationship it has with the department and what this would mean for the two government bodies in future.
He said many of Sassa beneficiaries were vulnerable residents who also sought services from the department. “We will hold Sassa accountable for delivering effective services to beneficiaries and protecting their dignity,” Londt said.
“At the same time, we believe in taking hands with willing partners in the social services space because when everyone plays their role, we can ensure the most vulnerable are cared for.”
He said: “We regularly receive complaints or enquiries from members of the public. There are many ways we can support Sassa, and we are willing to do so. We hope this will begin a fruitful relationship that will ultimately benefit the citizen.”
Cape Argus