Cape Town - Just days after the Weekend Argus reported on a community lifting the lid on loan sharks holding pensioners’ cards as collateral, the DA’s standing committee on social development has made an appeal for the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) to educate beneficiaries and those involved.
Social development standing committee chairperson Dan Plato said they were appealing to Sassa to step in and educate beneficiaries, despite a number of cases being investigated.
This was raised at the Standing Committee on Social Development on Tuesday.
“The DA in the Western Cape calls on Sassa to increase its efforts to educate grant beneficiaries on the pitfalls associated with predatory financial service providers and loan sharks.
“Despite encouraging progress on the issue, more can be done to combat the prevalence of beneficiaries being forced to use their Sassa cards as collateral by predatory financial service providers.
“This practice is not only illegal, but results in grant money lining the pockets of loan sharks instead of going to those who truly need it.
“In a briefing to the Standing Committee on Social Development this afternoon, Sassa revealed that it has been working with SAPS to prosecute those who engage in this practice, with a steady decline in the number of cases investigated and prosecuted in the last 10 years.
“However, it is profoundly concerning that this practice remains so widespread,” he said.
Plato added that education would reduce the risk of pensioners being taken for a ride.
"While I am pleased to see the progress Sassa has made in combating the use of grants as collateral in predatory loans, more can be done to educate and make the public aware of the dangers of this practice. We must ensure that grants are allocated and used by their intended beneficiaries to assist and uplift the poorest and the most vulnerable," he said.
Ralph Bouwers, CEO of the Guardians of the National Treasure, which runs elderly clubs, lifted the lid on the issue last week while helping two women to pay back their debt to loan sharks who were in possession of their Sassa cards.
Weekend Argus spoke to three women in their sixties who were living from hand-to-mouth and owed the loan sharks thousands of rands.
Bouwers indicated that many of the loan sharks were drug dealers and even shebeen owners.
Sassa national spokesperson, Shivani Wahab said those involved in withholding beneficiaries’ cards will be arrested.
Wahab added it was an illegal action of the loan shark to take hostage a recipient's card.