OPINION

Thank goodness sense has prevailed and the SA Social Security Agency has backed off and extended the deadline for grant recipients to switch from their gold Sassa cards to Postbank black cards.

However, it is far from certain that the three-week extension to March 20 will be sufficient to address the massive backlogs in transitioning recipients from the old cards to the new.

And it is likely that come March 21, many will be unable to access their grants because simply extending the deadline does nothing to address the underlying problems which regularly plague grant beneficiaries around the country.

Black Sash has pointed out that many of the sites Sassa has chosen to make the switch do not correlate with where beneficiaries live, meaning many in especially rural areas are travelling hundreds of kilometres, and then queuing for hours, to change their cards.

In addition, many of the retailer third-party sites beneficiaries are referred to were not informed, and were therefore unprepared for the large numbers of people suddenly descending on their kiosks.

The situation is not helped by the closure of many Post Offices around the country, leaving people with fewer locations to change their cards and withdraw their money.

The current debacle is a small reflection of the wider Sassa malaise beneficiaries must contend with each month, including short payments and network glitches on grant pay days, which force people to return when the network is up and running, often at cost they can ill afford.

Sassa should have learnt from previous disastrous roll-outs and planned much better; the current roll-out speaks of panic, disorganisation and chaos.

The belated identification of mobile units to serve rural areas is one example of the lack of forethought and planning inherent in the Sassa administration.

Grant beneficiaries, already among the most desperate, should not be subjected to the delays, confusion and frustration which regularly accompany accessing what for many is literally a lifeline.

The Independent on Saturday