The NDT committed to a relief fund for all registered guides in the form of 3 payments, over 3 months. It is reported that many guides received one payment last year and no further payments from the NDT guide relief fund. FGASA has investigated this and can report that there could be several reasons for this.
- The cell number may have changed in which case, the Registrars are expected to provide the NDT office with the correct cell numbers.
- Some guides chose not to redeem the payments.
The department has responded as follows: “Once-off payments for the total funds that were unredeemed will be made once there is a clear indication as to why the funds were not redeemed. All unredeemed amounts, as communicated previously to guides, will be processed once only. Thereafter, if the funds are still not redeemed, there will be no further payments made due to the excessive bank charges that are incurred”.
We urge all FGASA members, especially where the cell numbers have remained the same, to contact their network provider to ensure messages from Absa are not blocked, or to double-check their device settings to ensure that such messages are not blocked due to Apps (such as True Caller).
These non-redeemed payments will be resolved and paid out next week, so please make sure the Registrars have the correct details and that your messages are not blocked.
Regarding the FGASA Guide relief fund, please send the message far and wide to your network to support the fund. It is still open and will run for a further 2 months.
Warm regards
Michelle
MD FGASA