Councillors secure grants for homeless man

TWO prominent DA members teamed up and helped a homeless man and his family apply for a social grant.

Phillip Buys lives on the street with his wife and children, peddled his hand-made wares, has no job, and no ID. Things weren’t looking up for the Buys family until the election registration began. DA PR Ward 15 and 16 Councillor Lucky Mshengu, and Tim Brauteseth MP, were at the Pinetown Civic Centre where they were on duty registering voters for the recent by-election when they encountered Phillip and his family.

“We were attending the registration weekend before the by-election, and Phillip approached us with his story. He complained that in order to get a grant for himself and his family, he needed an ID but Home Affairs would not issue one without proper documentation. It’s a trap that thousands of South Africans live in every day and the Department of Home Affairs isn’t always that helpful,” said Lucky.

“In order to get an ID, get onto the grants system and a little hope in life, all he needed was a proof of address to receive a temporary ID. We immediately assisted him with this and helped him to get onto the grants system as a result,” said Lucky.

Highway residents who need assistance with proof of address are welcome to visit PR councillor Lucky Mshengu’s office on the third floor of the Charter House in Crompton Street in Pinetown. He noted that he will also liaise with the Department of Home Affairs and advise them that he will be assisting residents to obtain proof of address.

“Things have improved for us, we registered for grants and I even had a job interview a week later. At least there’s hope. Thanks to Lucky and the DA,” said Phillip.