Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape said on Wednesday that it was appalled by the failure of South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) officials to appear before the provincial parliament's standing committee on community development.
Last month, the committee invited the social security agency to address the various challenges at pay points within the province, how it will ensure that the September migration deadline is met, and the progress that is being made in reimbursing grant beneficiaries who were affected by unlawful deductions.
Lorraine Botha, DA provincial spokesperson on community development, said she will be re-inviting Sassa to the standing committee.
"It is further deeply concerning that Sassa is refusing to appear before the Standing Committee, as the normal process of inviting provincial Sassa through the national office of the CEO was followed," Botha said in a statement.
"In addition to this, I will be writing to the provincial minister of social development, Albert Fritz, to ascertain the number of grant beneficiaries that were affected by the non-Sassa payments at the beginning of July. It is vital that each of the more than 1,5 million social grant beneficiaries are kept abreast of all the developments within Sassa."
Sassa spokesperson Kgomoco Diseko was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Sassa said it had been able to pay at least 83 percent of social grants beneficiaries after some beneficiaries were struggling to withdraw their grants as a result of a technical glitch.