A group of grant applicants attending SASSA's Athlone office mid-2022 did not have to wait in a queue like other applicants and we're given priority. They did not even live in Athlone's area. This according to a 65 year-old who was in the group, they were taken there by an organiser known to staff.
Allegedly, the organiser offered staff a gift, a "little something" for the favourable attention.
SASSA's grant applicants at all branches must queue early, even 5am although offices open at 7am, and wait up to 8 hours on the first-come-first-serve basis without a guarantee of being seen. Often they're turned away and must return again and again.
Applicants for pension called "old age grants", disability, child welfare present themselves to the nearest SASSA office to where they live with their ID and bank statement. During the screening interview officers tell them what do documents to bring if they haven't already done so. They may have to return more than once if all the documents SASSA deems necessary is not present. However, it's the job of officers to ensure that and tell applicants.
During October and and November 2022, after thirty hours in queues over six days and a three-week period, an Athlone pensioner's application was in the process of being assessed, the final stage. At the last minute the officer told him he had three days to produce a supporting letter not mentioned before or his application would be cancelled. In other words, he'd have to start all over again.
He argued he could not provide it in three days as his bank has a response period of up to five days. The officer, Ms Adams, and the supervisor were unmoved. They refused to provide him with a receipt for the pro formal cancellation and asserted he'd cancelled his application himself. SASSA's rules say applicants must be given receipts stating why applications are unsuccessful.
There was chaos at the office with long waits and ad hoc rules regarding client management. Applicants wait outside, with more inside, up to eight hours from as early as 6am. Even then a few dozen are still not seen and given "tickets" to return the following day. They are supposed to get priority but it doesn't always work that way and must wait while new applicants are attended to first. Staff do not always observe Sassa's rules.
The applicant complained to SASSA management. Ironically, area manager Ananias Kgare said the response time would be five days, longer than they gave the pensioner to produce the document they wanted.
Athlone's branch manager Winnefred de Kock replied to the pensioner. While not admitting any blame, promised from November 14, 2022 a more effective client management system. But she still blamed the applicant for not producing the document they were supposed to tell him to bring and that he said would take a minimum of a week to obtain from his bank.
De Kock, Kgare, other management including head office did no reply to the applicant's subsequent emails.
If the allegation of preferential treatment for certain groups of applicants - there might be other groups the organiser allegedly takes to Athlone – is even partly true, it's irregular on different levels. Any action by a government employee that grants an unfair advantage or benefit to one and not the other is unlawful. The alleged gift amounts to a bribe and is graft and corruption under the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act. Its section 4 defines what constitutes corrupt acts and the preference shown this group, and others like them, is corruption with and without the alleged gift.
The public suffer direct and immediate consequences as a result of government and public workers' incompetence, negligence and corruption. With SASSA's, loss of grant money. But since there's no accountability and repercussions for government and its employees, irregularities like those here continue.
Fair administrative action and Batho Pele are words on paper yet government workers often bring their departments to a standstill to defend their purported rights.
The allegation about the alleged bribe and preferential treatment was emailed to management Ananias Kgare and Linda Dungu. There was no response.
Comments
Post a Comment