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- The government has apologised for "a glitch in the system" that caused a delay in 600 000 people receiving their grants.
- Postbank said there was nothing the government could do but say "sorry".
- The government said it can't rule out a similar incident happening in the future.
Future technical glitches that delayed 600 000 old-age grant recipients from receiving their monthly R2 080 payments have not been ruled out, despite a chorus of apologies from government ministers and state authorities.
Postbank chief executive, Ntomboxolo Mbengashe, who began her tenure in July, said the bank had tested the new South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) grants system to disburse monthly payments to beneficiaries, 600 000 of whom could not access their funds due to what Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu called "failed" technology.
Both Mbengashe and Zulu were speaking at a media briefing on Thursday in Tshwane. Mbengashe said her executive management had committed to ensure that those "technical glitches" did not happen again in the future.
Asked what the bank had to say to those affected by technical problems, Mbengashe said there was nothing much to say, "but to say sorry".
READ | Grants crisis: Zulu says Postbank 'failures threaten lives', DA calls for Sassa to use private banks
Mbengashe added: "Having said that, my experience in banking – having managed IT in so many institutions – things like these do happen. I cannot stand here with an understanding of how technology works to say, 100%, something like this will never happen again."
She added:
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele, whose department Postbank falls under, added to Mbengashe's apologies, saying "system errors" and poor governance by the Postbank board that resigned on Wednesday had resulted in the failures.
Gungubele added that 500 000 of the 600 000 affected recipients had received their grants in full.
"Government assures South Africa and social grants beneficiaries that all social grants beneficiaries that have not yet received their social grants payments will be paid their money in full. We encourage our clients who are still encountering challenges with accessing their grant money and require support to contact Postbank."
