Initially printed by Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik, Barbara Maregele, Nompendulo Ngubane and Chumani Mazwi for GroundUp, four October 2018.
October marked the end of cash funds to social grant beneficiaries by Money Paymaster Providers (CPS). The South African Post Office has taken over.
Lots of the outdated money paypoints had been closed and beneficiaries who selected to withdraw their grants in money needed to go to their native post office, ATMs or some shops. In some locations, funds went easily; in others, beneficiaries complained that they needed to journey a lot additional than they used to and stand in longer queues. GroundUp reporters visited a number of post offices.
Pietermaritzburg
“We will die standing in this queue,” mentioned Nomkhethelo Biyela from Maqongqo in Pietermaritzburg. Biyela, 75, was one of many social grant beneficiaries queueing on the post office in Langalibalele Road on Monday 1 October.
When GroundUp arrived at 1pm, Biyela had been queueing since 5am, she mentioned.
Just one workers member was out there for paying grants.
KwaZulu-Natal Post Office spokesperson Nobuhle Njapha mentioned the Post Office had appointed queue marshals in Pietermaritzburg, and wheelchair customers and the sick had been being taken to the entrance of the queue.
“We have water bottles, folding chairs and tables and are now busy buying additional chairs and will also provide marquee tents where they are required and can be fitted into the available space,” mentioned Njapha.
However when GroundUp visited, the tent couldn’t accommodate all of the beneficiaries and a few needed to queue exterior. There weren’t sufficient chairs and there was not sufficient room for wheelchairs. Aged girls had been sitting on the naked ground.
“We are standing outside without any shade,” mentioned Biyela. “We are tired. No one is coming out to tell us what is happening inside.”
“Our government should come and see what we are going through.”
Mirriam Sokhela from France location mentioned she had come at about 6am. She complained concerning the warmth, particularly inside the 2 cell bogs which had been equipped.
“A security guard told us that there is only one person who is making the payments inside. One person cannot handle all of us. We are hungry and sick. There is no priority for sick and disabled people. We are all standing in one queue,” mentioned Sokhela.
Zondeni Mchunu, additionally from France location, mentioned she was diabetic and couldn’t stand for lengthy. “But here I have no choice. We have no money to buy lunch. My grandchildren are expecting me to come back home with food. It doesn’t look like I’m going to get paid today. I’m not even in the middle of the queue,” Mchunu mentioned.
GroundUp visited one other post office in Selgro Centre. Beneficiaries had been complaining concerning the queue which they mentioned was not shifting. Some mentioned the outdated system had labored higher than the post office.
Bongumusa Mpanza, 76, mentioned on the CPS cash level in Impendle there had been chairs and the aged and sick had been prioritised. “Here we are all in one queue.”
Wheelchair consumer Nombuso Ndlovu from Imbali informed GroundUp she had spent R250 to be pushed to the post office.
“If I don’t get paid today, I will have to pay another R250 tomorrow. That is R500 already. Where am I going to get that kind of money?”
Njapha mentioned the Post Office had skilled “connection challenges” through the morning of 1 September. “These issues have now been solved and the system is running smoothly,” she mentioned. Beneficiaries might additionally use retailers or ATMs to withdraw money, and swipe their playing cards without spending a dime in any respect outlets. “Beneficiaries get three free cash withdrawals per month at supermarkets – Shoprite, Checkers, Pick ‘n Pay, Boxer, and Spar,” mentioned Njapha.
Cofimvaba
In Cofimvaba within the Japanese Cape some beneficiaries who began queueing as early as 5am needed to look ahead to greater than eight hours to get their cash from their local post office.
Some mentioned that they had been informed to return again the next day as a result of the post office closed at 4pm. Some had been turned away as a result of they didn’t have their IDs.
Officers needed to provide water and chairs to those that had been queuing exterior, however there weren’t sufficient chairs. Some pensioners sat on items of paper on the pavement ready for the queue to maneuver so they might get to chairs.
By lunch time the post office needed to cease different companies and concentrate on paying social grants beneficiaries.
Solely one in every of two cell bogs was working.
Nosayinethi Magoqwana from Mtyamtyam village mentioned when she arrived at 5am there have been already individuals queueing exterior. At noon she was nonetheless queueing.
“At 2am I was already up waiting for transport we hired to take us here.” She mentioned she had paid R80 for the return journey, leaving the village at 3am with 9 different passengers.
“We never complained about using our pay points. I don’t know why they closed them,” she mentioned. She obtained her cash at 1:20pm.
An aged man from Magwala village mentioned he had began queueing at 7am and he bought his cash at 3:30pm.
On Tuesday once more, aged individuals began queueing as early as 5am.
Noigland Maseti, 64, from Ngxabangu village, mentioned she left her dwelling earlier than 4am. She mentioned she and 7 others had employed a automotive for R60 return. When GroundUp arrived on the post office at about 6am, Maseti was sitting on cement on the entrance. By the point guards opened the gates at 8:30am there have been already near 100 individuals lined up.
Nozibele Mbekile from Ngquqhu village mentioned she needed to pay R60 out of her baby help grant of R400 to go and gather the cash.
Sassa spokesperson Luzuko Qina mentioned beneficiaries had been informed to convey IDs to withdraw cash from the Post Office. He mentioned recipients might additionally get their cash early as grants had been paid on Saturday (i.e. in September, earlier than the standard grant fee date) to individuals with financial institution accounts.
Mthatha
In Mthatha, a number of beneficiaries informed GroundUp on 1 October that they had been happy with the brand new fee system. Most of them had the brand new gold SASSA/Post Office playing cards.
Nomaza Mxini, 64, mentioned she discovered the brand new fee system extra handy and dependable.
“We do not have long queues anymore and we can withdraw from the ATMs anytime now.”
Social grant transactions additionally went easily on the Mthatha post office. Queues had been brief and there have been no delays. Standing in line, 71-year-old Mzikayise Mkhosi mentioned,
“I arrived here at noon and within two hours I was assisted. We used to spend the whole day at the pay points because of long queues.”
Nevertheless, one beneficiary, 75-year-old Nomzamo Saliti, mentioned she was scared to attract cash on the town from ATMs due to criminals. Mthatha centre is thought for being a hotspot for crime, with thieves typically concentrating on the aged on social grant paydays.
Cape City
GroundUp visited a post office and Shoprite in Retreat on Monday.
David Adams, 65, was accumulating his outdated age grant. He had walked about 500 metres from his dwelling.
“I would like the police to be patrolling this road at least every 30 minutes. There are a lot of old people walking down this road and anything can happen.”
Christopher Williams mentioned he most popular getting his incapacity grant from the post office as a result of strains had been shorter and it offered shelter when it rained.
At Shoprite, the queue exterior was beginning to get longer by late morning. The one criticism by most individuals within the queue was that there have been no chairs or bathroom amenities. Pensioner Nettie Brown mentioned she had collected her grant from Shoprite for the previous 5 years.
“I’ve been standing in line for two hours but it has always been like this,” she mentioned.
