Watch: Patrollers manage long queues as elders collect grants at pay points

Despite government’s efforts to limit queues at grant pay points by assigning different days for the various categories of Sassa grant beneficiaries to collect their money, snaking queues were observed in Boksburg and other areas across the country.

May 6, 2020

Fanie Mthupha 1 minute read

Community patrollers keep an eye on pensioners who were seated in queues at the Boksburg CBD Post Office.

Boksburg SAPS community patrollers worked tirelessly to ensure that shoppers and senior citizens practise social distancing while waiting in queues at pay points to collect their monthly Sassa grants in Boksburg.

As the country marks its fourth day of level four on May 4, the Advertiser visited the Boksburg CBD and observed snaking queues of people waiting outside retail stores, the South African Post Office, banks and the municipal offices.

Community patroller Chuma Mehlomakhulu asks patrons waiting outside Shoprite to practise social distancing.

The team of patrollers worked almost the whole day managing the queues of hundreds of customers, including elderly people, who waited outside the post office and busy supermarkets, like Shoprite and Boxer. Only a specific number of people were let into the supermarkets at a time to collect their grants or do shopping.

One of the elderly people who queued outside Shoprite, 66-year-old Stone Mphachake, said he is appreciative of the efforts made by both the retailer and the patrollers.
“They have provided us with chairs to sit on. I’m also happy the queue is moving fast and we have the patrollers here who are making sure we are protected,” said Mphachake.

Pensioners and the disabled had their own special queues. And apart from ensuring social distancing is practised and residents are sanitised before entering the supermarkets, patrollers also helped protect patrons against thieves.

Pensioners and the disabled started receiving their social grants on Monday., after the Department of Social Development and Sassa recently announced that from May, pensioners and the disabled will be able to access their grants from the third of every month or the first working day after this date.

Other grant payments will now be made from the sixth day of every month.

As of May 1, more sectors were allowed to resume economic activity in the country, but most companies resumed their operations on May 4.

This came after the 35-day lockdown, which was part of government’s measures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

As of May 4, the country had recorded 7 220 coronavirus infections.

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