SCORES of beneficiaries desperate to collect their R350 Covid-19 relief grants are sleeping in parks in and around north Durban in order to be the first in the queue at post office branches. Some of the beneficiaries begin queuing before 1am, braving the weather and in some cases, being robbed, all in an effort to collect their grants.
Several photos of beneficiaries sleeping in the park on Danville Avenue in order to access Covid-19 and SASSA grants are also circulating on social media.
Northglen News spoke to one beneficiary who gave an insight into the challenges he has faced in order to get a spot in the queue.
Related news: Concerns grow as Sassa beneficiaries queue amidst second wave
Philane Ngcobo (21) from Ntuzuma said he leaves home as early as 2am to travel to the Redhill Post Office.
“We don’t own a car so I rely on a taxi to get me there. The first taxi only begins operating at 2am in Ntuzuma and by the time I reach the post office, there are usually 50 or 60 people ahead of me. Some of them even told me they sleep in the parks, or outside the post office, because they are desperate to be near the front of the queue. There’s a mixture of SASSA and Covid-19 grant beneficiaries waiting in the line and sometimes you can wait up to four hours or an entire day and still not be helped. This is why some people are opting to sleep in the area because it is too costly to travel back and forth.
“I’m unemployed so this money, even though it’s only R350, helps me and my family with what we need to survive. I’ve contemplated sleeping in one of the local parks but I’m scared of being robbed. I’ve only managed to collect the relief grant twice because December, and in January so far the lines are far too long. People are even queuing from as early as 1am. We are also vulnerable as some people have been robbed while waiting for the post office to open. I’ve noticed some of the beneficiaries are targeted and asked to pay people R50 for someone to wait in the queue for them. They sometimes threaten other grant beneficiaries when they question how they can do this,” Ngcobo said.
In related news: What you need to know: Sassa grant renewals and payment dates
The South African Post Office (SAPO) said it is aware of instances where self-appointed queue marshals ask customers who visit their branches for a fee for a place in the front of the queue.
“Customers are advised not to pay the fee demanded by these queue marshals, and to report such incidents to the South African Police and to the Post Office branch in question. It should be noted the Post Office does not have jurisdiction over the behaviour of members of the public outside post office property. Anybody who becomes aware of postal crime in any form may report it to the SAPO’s toll-free hotline on 0800 020 070,” the Post Office said in a statement.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
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