Khayelitsha residents continue to brave the cold weather and sleep outside Sassa offices to apply for grants.
The rain on Sunday night and Monday left many soaking wet, but they stood firm until the offices were open.
“We sleep here and we are told only 60 people will be assisted,” said Nomsa Ronqo.
“Even the 60 they take, it does not mean everyone will get assisted.
“Some go home without receiving assistance because of the system being down or other glitches. There is no urgency from the workers, you can see that they are just working for the sake of working.”
TURNED AWAY: Resident at Khaye Sassa office
Community activist Axolile Notywala said the situation is heartbreaking: “When we arrived there on Sunday night, seeing the elderly sleeping outside lined up next to each other was heartbreaking.
“What is most troubling is that this has been happening in front of the Sassa office for more than three weeks but it seems like nothing was done during all this time.”
He said the situation says a lot about how desperate people are for some form of income to buy food.
“From the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in South Africa, I have been saying that the response/s from the government never prioritised the most marginalized in our society.”
Sassa spokesperson Shivani Wahab said they will soon be able to assist more people.
“In terms of the move to Level 3 of the lockdown, government services will commence full reopening from 1 June 2020. At the moment Sassa is operating with a third of its staff during Level 4 and a move to Level 3 will increase human resource
capacity drastically.”