The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Limpopo says it is in the process of capturing the details of R350 COVID-19 social relief grant beneficiaries who were not paid before the termination of the grant.
The grant was terminated at the end of April. Some of the people that submitted applications say they don’t understand why they were not paid.
Unhappy recipients have been advised to approach the agency before the end of May to lodge appeals.
26-year-old Innocent Mosetlha from Seshego in Limpopo sells scones for a living. He uses the few hundred rands he makes daily to send job applications and take care of his family.
Mosetlha says the money is not enough. He submitted an application for the government COVID-19 social relief fund when it was launched last year. He says he only received the payments for a few months before they stopped.
“I only received once, for the first month. From there I never received anything until now. Every time I always check my status it says IRP registration declined or something like that. When I do the follow up they tell me to go to SASSA, the Post Office. So many places – so I end up losing hope,” says Mosetlha.
31-year-old Lebo Mabutla is rummaging in a municipal bin for cans and other materials to recycle. He scours the Greenside township in Polokwane every day, searching for any item which he can sell for money.
Mabutla says he tried to apply for the social relief grant, however, there were problems with his identity document. He says SASSA was unable to capture his ID number, and he was told to apply for a new ID card. The grant was terminated before he had an opportunity to get a new ID card. Mabutla says the money would have helped him.
“Here I am suffering, I am just picking up some cans, something like recycling, at the end of the day I can get something to eat, my ID, everything you have to do with an ID. I just need that help because I don’t have money to do it, to do it it is very hard for me to find that money, I want it, I want the R350,” says Mabutla.
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Another disgruntled person is 32-year-old Barrent Sefole who stays with his grandmother outside Polokwane. He says his SASSA grant of R350 was not paid from January, before the termination of the grants at the end of April. Sefole says he used the grant money for prepaid electricity.
“I will be going to the SASSA offices or the post office to see if maybe I cannot get the past months that were not paid, to see if they cannot give me a payout, because I really need that money,” says Sefole.
SASSA Spokesperson in Limpopo, Zwannda Kutama says people who did not receive grant money after applying, or who did not receive funds during some months can lodge appeals with the agency. Kutama says new applications will however not be accepted.
“Those who want to make the appeal they have until the end of May 2021 to make those appeals, those appeals will be reconsidered and then after validation by the system as to whether they do qualify those who go through and qualify will be paid, once the system has validated and we have reconciled the stats of those who have lodged those appeals we will be able to provide those numbers for the people who have appealed before the end of this month,” says Kutama.
Kutama says 1.2 million people in Limpopo benefited from the COVID-19 social relief grant.
COVID-19 Pandemic | SASSA urges applicants to appeal rejected R350 grant claims
