SASSA runs the Eastern Cape from East London. The regional office does not take grant applications — those happen at a local office — but it is where a matter goes when the local office has not resolved it.
SASSA Eastern Cape regional office
- Regional office: 043 707 6300
- Branch coordinator: 043 707 6472
- Address: BKB Building, Cnr Fitzpatrick and Merino Road, Quigney, East London, 5200
- Postal: Private Bag X9001, Chiselhurst, East London, 5200
SASSA also publishes a named official’s personal work mailbox against this region. That is one person’s address rather than a departmental one, so it is not reproduced here — use the national grant enquiries mailbox below, which is monitored as a queue.
National routes that work from anywhere in the province
- Toll free: 0800 60 10 11
- Head office switchboard: 012 400 2000
- Email: [email protected]
One caution about email addresses copied off SASSA’s own contacts page: at least one is printed as @sassa.go.za, missing the v in gov, and another looks like a placeholder on a public mail provider. Neither is a working SASSA address. If you type an address by hand, check it reads sassa.gov.za before you send documents to it.
Eastern Cape local offices, by district
Applications, reviews and life certificates happen at a local office. SASSA publishes these by district, and it publishes their names but not their telephone numbers — so identify the right one here, then phone the regional office or the toll free line to reach it.
- Nelson Mandela Bay — Port Elizabeth, Motherwell, Zwide, Bethelsdorp, Walmer, Uitenhage, Kwa Nobuhle
- Buffalo City — East London, Mdantsane 1, Mdantsane 2, Duncan Village, King William’s Town, Zwelitsha
- O.R. Tambo — Mthatha, Mqanduli, Libode, Ngqeleni, Tsolo, Qumbu, Lusikisiki, Port St Johns, Flagstaff
- Amathole — Butterworth, Idutywa, Willowvale, Centane, Ngqamakwe, Alice, Fort Beaufort, Middledrift, Keiskammahoek, Stutterheim, Peddie, Xhora
- Chris Hani — Queenstown, Cradock, Middelburg, Whittlesea, Cofimvaba, Tsomo, Engcobo, Lady Frere, Indwe, Cala
- Alfred Nzo — Matatiele, Mount Ayliff, Mount Frere, Mbizana, Ntabankulu
- Joe Gqabi — Aliwal North, Burgersdorp, Sterkspruit, Maclear, Mount Fletcher
- Sarah Baartman — Grahamstown, Graaff-Reinet, Somerset East, Port Alfred, Humansdorp, Joubertina, Willowmore, Kirkwood and Addo
Before you queue
Take your green barcoded identity document or smart card, and originals rather than copies. For a child support grant, the child’s birth certificate and your own ID; for an older person’s grant, proof of income and of any assets; for a disability grant, a medical assessment arranged through SASSA rather than one you bring. A missing document is the single most common reason for a wasted day at a local office, and offices fill early.
SASSA does not charge and does not use agents
Applying for a grant is free. Nobody may charge you to complete a form, to book an appointment, to check a status or to speed up a payment, and SASSA has no agents who do this for a fee. Never hand your SASSA card or your PIN to anyone, including a shop owner or a person offering to draw the money for you — that is how grants are stolen from the people they belong to.
If a grant is rejected or a payment does not arrive
- Ask for the reason in writing and note the date. A rejection you cannot describe cannot be appealed.
- An appeal against a refused grant goes to the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals, which sits outside SASSA, and there is a time limit from the date of the decision.
- Maladministration that SASSA will not fix can be taken to the Public Protector.