5.5 APPLICATION PROCESS OF THE CSG
5.5.1 Four Step Model
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The findings above reveal that supporting documents are critical during the application process as they help to determine whether the primary caregiver is eligible to apply for the grant or not. The findings also reveal that the chances of deserving children being excluded from the CSG as a result of shortage in supporting documents are low; this due to the allowance made through Regulation 11 for alternative proof to be accepted by SASSA.
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indeed meet the requirements, and should the client not meet the requirements the customer care administrator is responsible for advising the client accordingly.
After customer intake the clients are then sent for screening which involves a process whereby the SASSA database is checked to determine whether the client does qualify for the CSG. Following this step the customer care administrator then directs the client to the next step, which is attestation:
Attestation is step 2 where we confirm that the information captured by the administrator in screening is correct. We then ask the applicant where they will like to receive the money (pay-point); we load that information in the system. The applicant must then sign before they move to the next step (#2 SASSA grant administrator, in-depth interview).
The findings above suggest that accuracy is important during this process, and that the client is part of the whole process.
According to the SASSA administrators, step number 3, quality assurance, is regarded as important, as it ensures that steps 1 and 2 were done according to the policy, and that there are no mistakes with the application. This helps to identify if there are any fraudulent practices and to ensure that clients get value for money:
Quality control is step 3; this is my responsibility where I then check all documents sent in to see if everything was done well, and if it is in accordance with the client (#2 SASSA grant administrator, in-depth interview).
The last step, number 4, is verification; the respondents indicated that during this step a decision is made whether to approve or dismiss the application. During this stage, if the application gets approved SASSA notifies the clients about the date the grant money will start coming in. This forms part of information provision:
Verification is step 4 where a decision is made to approve or not, and when we tell the applicant when they will start receiving the money (#2 SASSA grant administrator, in-depth interview).
79 Figure 5.1: Summary of a Four Step Model
Figure 5.1 above shows a visual representation of the findings presented by the SASSA administrators regarding the four steps of the application process. The findings suggest that there are clear work procedures (directing) of how and what is to be done from the beginning of the application process right to the end. The findings also show that the employees at SASSA are aware of their roles and how they feed into each other, which means that the second step will not take place without the first step being finished; the same applies to the other steps. These findings also suggest that it is not the administrators taking the steps, rather primary caregivers move from one step to the next with the assistance of the administrators in each step. Therefore one application passes through four different administrators instead of one administrator being responsible for all the steps. During this process reporting is critical. As each primary caregiver moves to the next step with the file which is physically handed over to the next administrator by the previous administrator, the previous step forms part of reporting.
The researcher asked the respondents about the person responsible for controlling all the processes and most administrators said that this is the responsibility of the assistant manager:
The assistant manager is the overseer of everything, she checks all the transactions made in accordance with the administrators responsible for those transactions, to check if the transactions are original or not fraudulent (#2 SASSA grant administrator, in-depth interview).
Screening
Attesting
Quality Control
Verification
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Other respondents indicated that a four step model allows all four administrators to oversee the process, with the help of the assistant manager:
Using the four step model we all oversee every process as the client moves to the following step, we then have a person that checks the quality and procedures, if they were followed before the file moves to PMB to be stored;
which is the responsibility of our assistant manager. If there is a file with a loophole they check who was responsible and that person must account (#8 SASSA grant administrator, in-depth interview).
The data presented above indicates that control of all the processes is not only done by one person but that each process acts as a control mechanism, and through control, administrators report on their aspect of work. Reflecting on the previous data on the four step model, checking in the system or manually is mentioned by administrators in all the processes, which affirms the responses of some of the administrators that everyone is responsible for controlling the process. The findings reflect that control by the assistant manager is done at the end, after the application has been approved. The findings show that the assistant manager only checks the files at the end of the working day. The findings also reveal that SASSA in Mthonjaneni Local Municipality is responsible for the first five (5) steps of the social assistance administration process indicated in Chapter Three in Figure 3.1, namely: screening applications; managing pre-applications; administering intake;
verifying information; and enrolling of applicants. The rest of the administration processes are conducted at the District Office of SASSA, which is situated in Pietermaritzburg.
The findings from the section above also indicate that there are some applications that do not get approved and thus do not move to the stage of enrolment. These clients have an opportunity to appeal their application.