South Africa: Logistical problems blamed for pension payment hassles

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South Africa: Logistical Problems Blamed for Pension Payment Hassles

SABC News

June 24, 2003

South Africa - A number of logistical issues have contributed to recent problems around pension payouts in the Eastern Cape, Mazwi Yako, the chairperson of Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) said today. CPS is one of two companies responsible for the distribution of social grants in the province.

Yako confirmed that the Eastern Cape government had threatened to take back six districts in which CPS recently began operating. He, however, said he believed with the right co-operation from government, the challenges would be overcome.

Yako was responding to a number of complaints about the service, among them queues, late arrivals, the length of time taken to process grants and the location of paypoints. He also said that there were major contributory factors that led to the administrative and logistical mishaps that are mostly prevalent in the Eastern Cape, whereas in four other provinces where the CPS is also in business, are not found. Criticism of CPS' service came to a head last week when a 31-one-year-old woman died while waiting in line for her social grant.

Serge Belamant, the chief executive of Aplitec, of which CPS is a subsidiary, said the current glitches were not surprising given the particular logistical problems in the Eastern Cape. These were compounded by the introduction of new smart card technology and the fact that many of those operating the system were previously disadvantaged people who lacked basic skills. That beneficiaries also needed time to get used to the new system meant further delays at paypoints.

Belamant also blamed some of the problems on the database supplied by the provincial government which was found to be flawed. "The government information was out of date. We are busy correcting that", he said. Yako said he was positive the situation would soon be reversed. He said although the company was now servicing 2 055 paypoints in the Eastern Cape, only a few were experiencing problems. CPS was in talks with the provincial and national departments of welfare, about issues around pension and grant administration. He said that there had been an agreement to ensure that social benefits are paid out to the old and needy in the most efficient and convenient ways.

He was unable to disclose what interventions were on the table until the meetings had been concluded. He said the death of the 31-year-old woman could in no way be linked to any CPS shortcoming.