Government
Social grants deadline: Black Sash to hold silent protest
The Black Sash has urged the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to fix the flaws in the social grants system as a new contractor is appointed to replace Cash Paymaster Services.
Pasqua Heard
Brief | 14 October 2015
Land conference hears stories of hope and despair
Communities struggling for adequate housing should do their own surveys of what they need, members of various communities told the land justice conference in Cape Town on 13 October.
Barbara Maregele and Ashleigh Furlong
News | 14 October 2015
Use the law, not violence, say activists at land conference
People facing eviction needed knowledge of the laws and their rights, a member of the South Road community told the urban land justice colloquium on 13 October.
Barbara Maregele and Ashleigh Furlong
News | 14 October 2015
“Why we don’t do maths” - high school students explain
At the end of grade nine South African students are expected to decide which subjects they would like to continue with for the rest of high school. One of the important decisions they make is whether or not they will continue with maths, or take maths literacy. As five students explain, the decision is tough, affects their future, and is not always made freely and based on their true ability and interests.
Sarita Pillay
Feature | 9 October 2015
Spotlight on social grants: The good, the bad and the confusing
For millions of South Africans, the monthly social grants -- mostly pensions and child support -- are the difference between survival and starvation.
GroundUp Staff
News | 7 October 2015
Spotlight on social grants: Sassa’s bid to stop illegal deductions
Every month, money is deducted from the accounts of hundreds of beneficiaries of social grants without their permission. The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) is working to get the money refunded. But according to the Black Sash, the system Sassa has set up does not work.
GroundUp Staff
Feature | 7 October 2015
Spotlight on social grants: Net1 - the company that runs the grant payment system
The South African government’s massive social security payment system is managed by a subsidiary of Net1, a company listed on stock exchanges in the United States and Johannesburg.
GroundUp Staff
Feature | 7 October 2015
Spotlight on social grants: How grants are used to back loans
Some social grant beneficiaries are so deeply in debt that much of each month’s grant goes to paying back a loan.
GroundUp Staff
Feature | 7 October 2015
Spotlight on social grants: How the system works
It’s 6:30am on a cold Wednesday morning and about 50 people, mostly women with babies, are already queuing outside the South African Social Security Agency office in the Delft library to apply for their child support grants.
GroundUp Staff
Feature | 7 October 2015