CAPE TOWN – The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is deploying around 1 000 contract workers across the country to address severe staffing shortages that have left beneficiaries waiting more than two and a half hours at service points.
The announcement was made during a media briefing in Cape Town, where SASSA revealed that average customer waiting times reached 160.9 minutes during the first quarter of 2026, exceeding the agency’s 90-minute target.
SASSA chief executive Themba Matlou said the agency was dealing with vacancies created partly by employees leaving through early retirement and voluntary exit programmes. He confirmed that management had developed an intervention plan targeting a 16-day turnaround time to fill essential vacant positions.
The contract workers, primarily tech-literate youth, are being strategically deployed to busy service hubs to manage queues, process applications and resolve data backlogs stemming from the grant review cycle. They will assist beneficiaries with enquiries, applications and grant reviews while providing frontline support at service points.
The staffing intervention comes as SASSA offices continue to deal with large numbers of beneficiaries requiring assistance with applications, reviews and other administrative processes. Grant reviews have added further pressure to an already stretched system, with beneficiaries required in some cases to verify changes in their income, employment or other circumstances to determine whether they still qualify for assistance.
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Black Sash has previously raised concerns about the impact of the review process on beneficiaries, including complaints about long queues, repeated visits to SASSA offices and delays or interruptions in payments while people try to comply with review requirements.
The Department of Social Development said the additional workers are intended to strengthen frontline capacity and help beneficiaries, particularly older people who may struggle to navigate increasingly digital systems.
SASSA is simultaneously expanding online and digital services as part of efforts to reduce the number of people who need to visit offices in person. However, the department noted that contract staff remain essential to assist vulnerable or elderly beneficiaries who find navigating automated systems difficult.
The announcement highlights the balancing act facing the agency: replacing staff who have left, responding to growing administrative demands and ensuring millions of grant beneficiaries can access services without spending hours waiting in queues.
