Several offices closed on Tuesday

Several South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) offices in the Western Cape were closed on Tuesday as a result of a strike by security guards.

SASSA promised to put a contingency plan in place, and when GroundUp checked on Wednesday, the Cape Town office and the Athlone offices were open again. Calls to other offices in the city to find out if they were open went unanswered.

Annelize Bester, acting regional executive manager for SASSA in the Western Cape, said SASSA had closed some offices on Tuesday "as we do not have enough security officials on duty to cover all the service points".

She said that SASSA offices in Athlone, Vredenburg, Khayelitsha, Cape Town, Eerste River, Mitchells Plain, Robertson, and Beaufort West were unable to service clients. Offices in Gugulethu, Oudtshoorn, George, Worcester, Witzenberg, Vredendal, Wynberg, Paarl, Bellville, and Grabouw continued to provide either full or reduced services.

For clients affected by the closures, alternative appointment dates were being arranged where possible, said Bester. She said people wanting to apply for grants could also use the SASSA website's online platform.

Bester said the strike was the result of a dispute between the security company appointed by SASSA and employees. SASSA had been notified about the strike late on Monday. She said SASSA was in discussions with the security company.

"We profusely apologise to clients for the inconvenience caused today and assure them that we will try our utmost best to ensure that services are rendered in a safe and secure environment."

On Wednesday SASSA told GroundUp that the security service provider has implemented the contingency plan and all SASSA offices should be operational today.