Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has launched an online booking system for disability grants, in Cape Town.

The online system will enable disability grant applicants to book their medical assessments without physically visiting a local South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) office.

The new system will be piloted in the Western Cape before being rolled out nationally.

The online booking system forms part of Sassa’s strategy to improve its services through the efficient use of digital technology, which will significantly cut down time and save costs for both Sassa and applicants.

Currently, the application for disability grant takes an average of three visits by the applicant to the local Sassa office. The new booking system process includes a booking for medical assessments, a medical assessment by a Sassa doctor and the completion of an application.

According to Zulu, the online booking will address the challenges associated with long queues at local offices and ensure that Sassa complies with Covid-19 regulations.

The system will enable prospective Sassa temporary disability grant recipients to book their medical assessments without physically visiting their local Sassa offices.

The system is aimed at significantly improving the lives of people with disabilities in a practical sense and as a response to the overflow of temporary grant applicants at local Sassa branches.

“At the end of December, 200 000 temporary disability grants expired. These were the grants with a medical assessment expiry period between February 2020 and December 2020, which were kept in payment as part of the special directives in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This saw our offices overwhelmed with desperate clients attempting to re-apply for the temporary disability grants. The situation forced us to adopt innovative ways of providing services to our people,” said Zulu.

She has directed Sassa to work closely with individuals and organisations representing persons with disabilities during the piloting phase.

Deaf Federation Western Cape director Jabaar Mohamed said that the launch was a step in the right direction for Sassa.

“We cannot wait to see how the department will incorporate more features sensitive to the needs of people living with disabilities, including working with communities and specialists within the communities of the differently-abled to better provide services to them,” Mohamed said.