AfriForum seeks answers from Sassa in KwaZulu-Natal

AfriForum recently demanded answers from the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) in KwaZulu-Natal after various complaints were received by AfriForum and Helping Hand, because doctors who must examine temporarily incapacitated patients are not being awarded contracts. Sassa doctors must annually evaluate these patients to determine if they qualify for grants.

Sassa’s neglect to award contracts to these doctors led to many patients having not received grants for months, because there were no doctors to evaluate them. According to reliable sources, this is the second consecutive year that this agency did not appoint internal medical practitioners in some parts of this province.

“The incompetence of Sassa creates a social crisis for already vulnerable people. Therefore, AfriForum approached Sassa’s national offices to provide answers,” says Peet Liebenberg, an AfriForum committee member in Newcastle.

“The national office admitted to AfriForum that the problem is receiving attention and that the affected areas – namely Richards Bay, Newcastle, Nkandla, Nongoma and the lower Umfolozi district – started with patient evaluations recently. Vryheid should start with their operations at the end of February 2018,” says Eugene van Aswegen, AfriForum’s Provincial Coordinator for KwaZulu-Natal.

AfriForum will continue to monitor operations.

Become involved with your local AfriForum branch by sending an SMS with your name to 45267 (R1).