Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu and Communications Minister Mondli Gungubele held a media briefing today to provide an update on the social grants saga that left some pensioners and those living with disabilities frustrated over non-payments. According to the ministers, about 600 000 social grant recipients were left stranded for over a week after Postbank allegedly decided to appoint a new contractor that caused a system glitch.

"We are delighted to tell you that we have made progress on payments and Postbank and all those that were due to receive their Sassa grants on the 5th and 6th of September have been paid. The funds are now readily available in the Postbank accounts of the recipients and can also be accessed from various banks and retailers. We also want to reassure them that there is no need that to withdraw their money all at once fearing that they won't be able to access it at a later stage because this a normal bank account," Gungubele said.

Gungubele said they are aware that soon they will have to be making payments for October and have started preparing for them. "In two weeks time October payments have to be distributed, now we are already making sure that everything is in order to avoid the same problem. Our officials will continue to engage to make sure that everything is in order. We continue to repay our sincerest apologies to all social grant beneficiaries who have encountered difficulties accessing their money this month. Gungubele has warned against what he called fabricated stories that have been making the rounds on social media about why the funds were inaccessible. "The spread of lies is causing further damage. The root cause was from Postbank migrating to a new system, which had a technical glitch and caused delays in payments. This was rectified by the 6th and we urge people to stop spreading fear and uncertainty towards our beneficiaries. We urge all grant holders to stop listening to rumours and rather verify with their nearest Postbank as to when their cards will expire. The cards will continue work though December 2023."