Foster parents paid after “technical glitch”

Some foster parents in the Eastern Cape have received their foster care grants after a technical glitch caused payment delays to 6,000 beneficiaries in September. Archive photo: Thamsanqa Mbovane

• Last week we reported that SASSA had failed to pay grants to foster parents in the Eastern Cape.
• The agency has now paid them.
• The foster care grant is R1,290 per month until October.
• The agency says a “technical glitch” in their system caused delays in payments to 6,000 beneficiaries.

Some foster parents in the Eastern Cape are breathing a sigh of relief after their grants of R1,290 were finally paid.

Last week, we reported on a group of foster mothers who were desperate for answers after their monthly care grants were not paid in September. Following questions by GroundUp, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) provincial office acknowledged that 6,000 grants had not been paid due to a “technical glitch” in their system.

South Africa has several hundred thousand foster parents. The grant is paid until the child turns 18. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the grant was upped by R250 until October from the usual R1,040.

On Wednesday afternoon, many of the women we interviewed confirmed that they had since been paid.

Patricia Martin from Duncan Village in East London said: “We received the money on Tuesday, 15 September. I am the guardian of a 17-year-old orphan and he is also relieved now. We were stressed and wondered how we would cope during this month after not receiving grants a week ago.”

Last week Martin was one of about 40 women who travelled to the SASSA office where an official gave them forms to take to their banks. The forms were to request that the grant be paid into a bank account.

SASSA Eastern Cape spokesman Luzuko Qina said: “We are happy that our beneficiaries are excited to have received their grants too.”

Donate using SnapScan.