“We came to the Post Office and they said there was no money” 11 January 2023 | By Marecia Damons On Friday, Postbank acknowledged that a glitch had prevented many social grant recipients from accessing their January 2023 payments. Postbank said the issue had been resolved. But GroundUp visited a Cape Town payment branch on Tuesday and found several beneficiaries had still not...

The short answer You are supposed to pay UIF contributions until your employee stops working for you. The whole question Dear Athalie In April 2021, my domestic worker applied for a SASSA older person's grant. I then stopped contributing to her UIF because she would not be able to claim the benefits once she started receiving the grant. She kept working and officially retired...

Immigrants are not reporting crimes or seeking assistance from law enforcement as they fear extortion or deportation 2 December 2022 | By Kimberly Mutandiro Organisations working with immigrants say they have had numerous complaints of police extorting bribes and stealing from African immigrants. They say undocumented immigrants are too afraid to report such crimes; they are even too afraid to report any crime. ...

The legislation was sent to the president more than two months ago 2 December 2022 | By Chris Gilili Domestic workers were excluded from claiming for compensation for work injuries until the Constitutional Court ruled in 2020 that a section of the Compensation Act was invalid. The amendment bill correcting this was sent to the President in September this year but has not...

The short answer You can call a family meeting or approach an organisation that helps families having marital problems. The whole question Dear Athalie Why does SASSA count your spouse's income when you apply for the disability grant if your spouse doesn't help look after you with that income? The long answer As SASSA is a means-tested organisation, declaring your spouse’s income is a legal...

Land Claims Court says the Constitution requires that ESTA be given a “generous interpretation” 21 November 2022 | By Tania Broughton The Land Claims Court has ruled that removing grazing rights can amount to an eviction. Courts have previously ruled that grazing is only permitted by consent of the landowner. The Constitutional Court has said that a “blinkered” approach must be avoided when...

There was no evidence to justify Judge Cassim Sardiwalla’s order, says court By Tania Broughton The Supreme Court of Appeal has set aside an order by the Pretoria High Court on the use of ivermectin for Covid patients. The High Court had made an order compelling the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to report back to the court every...

The short answer You can phone their hotline but you will probably have better luck if you get help from a non-government organisation. The whole question Dear Athalie I have been trying to get a birth certificate for my 5-year-old son since 2019 but Home Affairs still hasn't granted me an interview. Every time I go to the office to ask if there...

The municipality may have to forfeit the conditional grant due to underspending By Daniel Steyn The Amathole District Municipality (ADM) risks losing a R493-million conditional grant because it has failed to spend the first R100-million portion. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant was allocated to the municipality in July by the National Treasury. A large section of the Wild Coast runs through the district, including...

After a court battle lasting ten years, the new centre is set to open next year By Tariro Washinyira The long-awaited Cape Town Refugee Reception Centre in Epping is finally taking shape, with builders hard at work on the site of the new building. The office is due to be opened early next year after court battles which have lasted ten...