System glitches, rising food prices and delayed payments drive scramble for state money, say activists
Sassa has announced that, from May, disability and older persons' grants will be paid over two days from the fourth of each month, while all other grants will be paid from the sixth.Seven million desperate and fearful child caregivers, whose starving families depend on government social grants for survival, are expected to descend on retailers en masse on Wednesday.
In KwaZulu-Natal, nearly 450,000 people did not receive their grants. In the Western Cape, thousands received double payments, with social development minister Lindiwe Zulu threatening to stop payments in May if the monies were not returned. Her assurances came after Sassa’s system for the country’s emergency Covid-19 support grant crashed during a test run last weekend when 100,000 people tried to register for the R350 grant.Gladys Mpanza of Pietermaritzburg’s Azalea township was among thousands who returned home on Monday without her grant.
“For most people, their grant money and food runs out two weeks into the month. People are now hungry, desperate and fearful from Monday’s glitches. She said their research showed the cost of a basket of food increased between March 2 to April 23 by R252.75 , from R3,221 to R3,473.75. Paula Proudlock, programme manager of UCT Children’s Institute, said they were anticipating a massive rush on retailers, ATMs and post offices when 7 million caregivers arrived to collect their grants.
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