BY OBAKENG MAJE
North West MEC for Social Development, Fenny Gaolaolwe on Thursday confiscated 47 SASSA cards from a shop owner at Madipalesa village outside Pampierstad during a Setsokotsane drive.

While Gaolaolwe conducted a door-to-door visit in the area to deliver grocery hampers and blankets to the elderly, she entered a house of a pensioner and asked her to produce her pension card. When the pensioner failed to produce the card the she openly told Gaolaolwe that her pension card including those of other residents in the area are being kept by a local shop owner.

“It is unlawful for the shop owner to keep SASSA cards. A grant recipient is the only person who may use the SASSA card. You may not transfer the SASSA card, or authorise any other person to use the card. This card remains the property of government,” Gaolaolwe said, after the shop owner handed the card to the police who received a tip from Gaolaolwe.

Without mincing her words, Gaolaolwe said the confiscated cards will be issued with warning letters to all the beneficiaries involved in the saga. Many of the grants beneficiaries, Gaolaolwe said are from Madipelesa and the neighbouring villages in both North West and Northern Cape provinces.

“While we condemn this practice as government we appeal to the shop owner and any other money lenders to discontinue their illegal acts. We call on the community members to report these incidents to SASSA offices or the department. We cannot sit back when affluent people take advantage of our grannies, Gaolaolwe said, adding that SASSA machines should be withdrawn in all the outlets that rob beneficiaries their social grants.

She said the department will intensify its drive to educate the communities on the responsible use of their cards and the dangers associated with the abuse of their monies. She said government will not be defeated in its quest to pay the right social grant to the right person at the right time.

During the altercations which lasted for more than twenty minutes, the shop owner claimed that the grant beneficiaries told her that their cards are safe and secured as long as they are kept in her shop. She claim that the grant beneficiaries are happy that she is curbing the abuse of their social grants by their children who intimidate their parents and misuse their cards.

According to unnamed sources privy to the information the beneficiaries are paying heavy charges for buying on credit. They say card with pins are always kept in the shop. They claim that many of them are paying huge amounts of money for burial scheme insurance operated by the shop owner on behalf of another company in NC.

It also emerged that when the cards were collected that most of the grant beneficiaries are made to pay R200.00 every month towards the burial insurance.

Meanwhile Gaolaolwe has ordered SASSA officials to open a case against a local shop owner.
-TDN
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