South Africa Post Office to partly take over social grant distribution

Lesaka Technologies

08/11/2017 10:57

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 8 (Reuters) - South Africa's postal 
service will partly take over distributing the social grants 
that are the main source of income for around 17 million people, 
the parliamentary communications service said on Wednesday. 
     South Africa remains scarred by glaring income disparities 
and a jobless rate of over 27 percent. The social grants keep 
millions from going hungry. 
     Cash Paymaster Services, a unit of technology company Net1 
unit  UEPS.O , had distributed the payments, but a new provider 
had to be found after South Africa's highest court ruled five 
years ago that the tender process to acquire the service was 
unlawful. 
    The court in March extended Cash Paymaster's contract by a 
year, averting a crisis that had almost seen payments cut off.  
That gave South Africa's Social Security Agency (SASSA) until 
the end of March next year to find another provider. The South 
African Post Office (SAPO) will now fill part of that role. 
    The communications service said in a statement that a 
decision had been taken "to fast-track the introduction of an 
integrated payment system, which will be provided by government 
through a partnership between SASSA and SAPO." 
    The issue had South Africans on edge earlier this year as a 
deadline loomed in March for SASSA to find a replacement for 
Cash Paymaster Services, a deadline it missed. 
    The government's planned expenditure on social grants in the 
2017/18 financial year amounts to more than 150 billion rand  
($10.5 billion), a key expenditure item in a low-growth 
environment. 
     
($1 = 14.2256 rand) 
 
 (Reporting by Ed Stoddard, editing by Larry King) 
 ((Edward.Stoddard@thomsonreuters.com; +27 11 775 3160; Reuters 
Messaging: edward.stoddard.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SAFRICA WELFARE/