The Postbank “glitch” earlier this month was devastating for 600 000 social grant recipients, and although the problem was solved last week, according to the state-owned bank, advocacy NGO Black Sash reported continuing crises.
This is a tragedy, in part because of déjà vu: we’ve seen it before when earlier private-sector systems set up by MasterCard and Cash Paymaster Services were even more detrimental to the country’s poorest residents. The difference is that Postbank lacked system competence, whereas, for private-sector firms, the motive was profit.
Ironically, the new World Bank president, Ajay Banga, took office in June without a full investigation into his own predatory-financing history here,
