BELLVILLE
Woensdag, 27 Januarie 2021 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | e-pos: nuus@tygerburger.co.za
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Police fire a water cannon at waiting beneficiaries to enforce social distancing. The majority of beneficiaries were there to renew their temporary disability grants – which expire at the end of January. PHOTO: NIELEN DE KLERK
THOUSANDS QUEUE: ‘HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATED’
Backlash after Sassa chaos NIELEN DE KLERK @nielendk
S
assa and the police have received widespread criticism for a recent incident which saw police using a water cannon to enforce social distancing at the Bellville branch. Yet the incident, which happened on Friday 15 January, has done little to decrease the number of people queueing at different South African Social Security Agency (Sassa’s) offices, with many still sleeping outside different branches to ensure they’re helped.
Backlash The organisation Black Sash said they
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Why the long queues? The reapplication of lapsed temporary disability grants was extended from February last year to the end of December – leading to hundreds of people queueing over the past few weeks. Countrywide more than 200 000 temporary disability grants and care dependency grants across the country have lapsed. In the Western Cape 52 323 have to reapply after these grants lapsed on 31 December. Of these only 905 applications have been assessed so far, Sassa told the Western Cape provincial parliament last week. Bandile Maqetuka, the head of Sassa in the Western Cape, apologised to those who have been inconvenienced by long queues. V To page 2
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straints and the premature decision to allow temporary disability grants to lapse.” The Department of Social Development (DSD) will brief the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on plans to end the queues at many Sassa pay points on 3 February, spokesperson Sibongile Maputi said in a statement. Bridget Masongo, the DA’s spokesperson on social development, welcomed this announcement saying. “The absolute bungling of the temporary disability grants process cannot be sugarcoated and we trust that every member of the social development committee will hold the minister and those who report to her fully accountable.”
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condemn the use of force and “the shameful and shocking disregard for the human rights of vulnerable beneficiaries, many of whom are disabled and chronically ill”. The national minister of social development, Lindiwe Zulu, was at Bellville’s offices on the day in question and used a hailer to tell people to adhere to social distancing measures. “The police deploying the use of force in the presence of the minister of social development is a clear indication that the minister and Sassa have lost control of the current situation as more and more people make their way to Sassa offices,” Black Sash says,“This was entirely predictable, given Sassa’s severe capacity con-
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