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- People were ready to sleep on the sidewalk outside Sassa’s Bellville office in hopes of getting her pension application.
- On Thursday, the mothers breastfed tiny babies locked on the sidewalk while they, too, lined up to apply for a grant.
- The office is one of many dealing with termination of temporary disability grants.
“Auntie, there’s no money here,” the Shoprite employee told Moonieba *, 59, when she went to get her temporary disability benefit earlier this year.
Moonieba said this was the first time she had heard that temporary disability grants would not be extended again as of December 31, as had happened during the shutdown. The news surprised her.
“I am a chronic patient. What should I do now?” she asked.
“Why didn’t they work smart? I’m already in the system,” he said.
Her friend Margaret * kept a supply of water in an old two-liter soda bottle and brought sandwiches instead of cooked food, which would spoil in the rising heat.
“I’m ready to sleep here,” she said, pointing to the plastic bags stacked near her. “I will be turning 60 soon and I want to apply for my pension.”
READ | Blind retiree stands in vain queues in the rain outside Sassa’s office in Uitenhage
He had previously received the R1 860 disability grant, which was canceled at the end of December in accordance with a statement from the Department of Social Development that he was unable to pay the money it would cost to continue refinancing.
Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu is expected to visit some of Sassa’s offices on Friday to see first-hand the situation on sidewalks and in offices after more than 200,000 temporary grant recipients across the country discovered that they had to reapply and have a new medical evaluation.
Margaret said that if she is successful with her pension application, her disability allowance will be canceled when she turns 60 in a few months and she will go on to receive R1 860 as a pensioner.
“There is nothing healthy about this,” Margaret said.
“I must sit all night until tomorrow [Friday]. And it’s been going on like that for about four weeks, “he said.
Some of the people preparing to sleep on the sidewalk at Sassa’s Bellville offices (Jenni Evans, News24)
“I’m sick and tired. Really. They just say you should come back. They don’t tell you anything and sometimes they only start at 11:00 in the morning and there are only a few there (serving).” . “
The Bellville office had faced the additional complication this week of closing for deep cleaning this week due to a positive test for Covid-19 at the office.
The agency also had to adjust the way it works by not having its usual staff in the office, to be in line with Covid-19 health regulations.
Farther afield, women sat along the wall or on the sidewalk nursing small babies born during the confinement.
“I hope to come right now,” said a woman stroking her six-month-old baby’s hair as she breastfed him on the sidewalk.
A grandmother, who had brought a folding chair, lovingly cradled her sleeping grandson to give the baby’s mother a break.
The people, who have been waiting, say they were allowed to use Sassa’s bathrooms during the day.
But, at night, instead of being home for curfew, many choose to sleep on the sidewalk to get ahead of the queue the next day.
They pay R1 to use the bathrooms in nearby businesses, but when they are blocked, businesses close it and people relieve themselves on the street.
“And that’s terrible,” Margaret said.
Hundreds of people queue outside the doors of Sassa’s office in Gugulethu, Cape Town, trying to renew their disability grants that expired on Tuesday. (Photo: Buziwe Nocuze, GroundUp)
The people queuing seemed resigned to the situation, moving as the sun moved to find a patch of shade.
“My children are home alone,” said a Delft mother.
She said she needs the grant so she can get her children’s school uniforms and office supplies and pay for transportation to and from school.
She is one of the people who have questioned why mobile services in the community hallways closest to their homes were stopped during the shutdown, forcing them to borrow money to take full taxis to the nearest Sassa office. .
“We used to go to the community room in Elsies River, but they stopped it. It worked well and it was so much easier,” Margaret said.
The ANC in the Western Cape targeted the majority city of Cape Town, led by DA, for closing these municipal facilities to Sassa during the shutdown.
“The ANC condemns as cruel and indifferent Cape Town’s refusal to make available any of its sites that [Sassa] Points of service to the poor and vulnerable can be used as a social subsidy, ”said ANC member of the provincial legislature Gladys Bakubaku-Vos in a statement.
“According to information from the ANC, prior to the closure of Covid-19, Sassa, in the Western Cape, used 179 municipal facilities to bring vital services closer to communities. However, the ANC has been informed that the city of Ciudad del Cabo closed these service points. Sassa has asked the City for permission to use their facilities … but to no avail. “
READ: Extending Expired Temporary Disability Grants Until Hoarding Crisis Is Solved – Black Sash
But Cape Town denies it.
Mayco member for community services and health Zahid Badroodien told News24 that Sassa and city officials met last June to discuss reopening some community facilities.
The City told Sassa that certain community rooms were unavailable due to the City’s coronavirus response, but offered to lease some of its available community spaces to Sassa. Requested memoranda of understanding (MOUs) for 20 sites.
Thozama Bitterhout (right) of KwaNobuhle, accompanied by her relative Nomzi Gaba outside Sassa’s office in Uitenhage while it was raining.
“Until now, the City has attempted to work in good faith with Sassa to ensure that they can access our facilities for grant payment in the areas where they are most needed. Unfortunately, the facilities identified by the City were rejected by Sassa as they insisted that the City install technical infrastructure that would alter the multifunctional nature of these facilities in Sassa’s office space.
“It is important to note that these spaces, although closed, still belong to our communities and their multifunctional purpose must be maintained.”
Badroodien said that if there was a need beyond the MOUs that were signed, Sassa never sought to involve the City in this formality.
“It is therefore disappointing that the City is being blamed for the ineptitude of Sassa officials to handle their own crisis. It is equally disappointing, but not surprising, that the issue is turning into political football.”
“… The City is more than willing to provide additional assistance to Sassa. However, this would require a strategic discussion, so that we can determine what City resources are needed, in an environment free of cheap political opportunism and for the benefit and well-being of the thousands of people who have been affected by the expiration of their temporary disability grants. When Sassa is ready to hire us, we will be ready to help them, “he said.
[*Not their real names]
