In February this year, the Herald ran a report about 46-year-old Curvin Kok, a resident who was denied a South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grant after he was diagnosed with a serious mental illness.
Curvin returned to the Herald’s offices in early May, and told us that he has had no luck. He had gone back to his own doctor, where he received a letter stating the nature of his illness. His doctor told him to go to back to SASSA in Randfontein, and hand the letter over to the doctor on duty.
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According to Curvin, he saw the doctor, but he did not even glance at Curvin’s doctor’s diagnosis. Curvin said, “He wrote something down, then gave me my forms back and sent me to about three different offices”. When Curvin ended up at the last employee, she simply told him that his grant has not been approved.
Curvin is also an epileptic, and he is on a high dose of medication for his mental disorders – he suffers from a type of psychosis and has suicidal tendencies, and also tends to harm himself. He also exhibits notional antisocial behaviour. Curvin is not ashamed of his illness, but he is in desperate need of a grant, as he does not have an income and cannot work.
The Herald has obtained details of his diagnosis from a mental assessment hospital. He was diagnosed with a mental disorder in 2015, and has been battling financially ever since.
The Herald was also told by another reliable source that a doctor at SASSA Randfontein had also refused him his grant, even after he had lost his leg.
The Herald tried to contact the SASSA offices in Randfontein, but since they do not supply a telephone number, the attempt was unsuccessful. Furthermore, the number given to us by the SASSA head office was also incorrect. In the past, the Assistant Manager of SASSA’s Operations Management district office in Randfontein had said she would resolve these issues, but this has never happened.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za (please remember to include your contact details in the email) or phone us on 011 693 3671.
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