KNYSNA NEWS - Minister of Social Development Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe has vowed to mobilise resources to bring an end to long queues and improve turnaround times at the South African Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) offices across the country.
Tolashe said to achieve these goals Social Development and its entities will require support interventions from the Department of Public Works, National Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration.
She will engage with the ministers of these departments to bring about immediate intervention strategies.
Oversight visits
The minister made these undertakings as she on Monday 13 January concluded her week-long oversight visits to Sassa offices in the Western Cape to assess whether they are able to meet the needs and the demands of the communities they serve.
During all her visits to the Sassa service points Tolashe was confronted by long queues, with people from different areas standing in scorching heat, hoping to be assisted.
Disheartened by what she saw, Tolashe informed the communities that she will not rest until the situation has been turned around as a matter of urgency.
'It's not right'
“As a country, we are faced with many challenges and our fiscus being managed by our government to ensure there is sustainability.
"However, social services and the provision of grants remains one of the important elements in our endeavors to thwart hunger in many communities.
"It is for this reason that I need to speak to our sister departments and my colleagues in cabinet to assist us because what we have seen in these areas is not right,” she said.
More officials, buildings
Tolashe emphasised that the Department of Public Works needs to ensure that Sassa services are easily accessible to the public by providing sufficient buildings to service the public.
While that is being done, she said that National Treasury and Public Service and Administration have to come on board and ensure that more officials are employed to assist the public at Sassa offices.
High-quality service
She said the long queues were not due to Sassa officials being incompetent, but the result of a lack of resources, and she was positive they would soon become a thing of the past.
Tolashe reiterated that her office and the entities reporting to her will provide services of high quality to communities and ensure that Batho Pele and ubuntu principles are adhered to at all times.
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