SASSA grant recipient on pensioners: ‘With the cost of living, it is very hard’

A SASSA grant recipient in KwaZulu-Natal says pensioners carrying entire households deserve more attention from the government.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, receives the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. He shared his story with The South African through its SASSA grant survey.

SRD grant runs out before month-end

The recipient, aged 54, has relied on the SRD grant for between one and three years. He spends it mainly on food and groceries but says nothing remains by the end of the month.

He shares a family home with three to five dependants and regularly struggles to make ends meet. In the past month, someone in his household went without food.

He has also faced late or missing payments, and he rated SASSA’s communication with recipients as very poor. He tried to apply for additional government support but was either declined or gave up.

Grateful, but worried about pensioners

Despite his own hardship, the recipient turned his attention to elderly South Africans.

“Many people are relying on SASSA grants, from the unemployed to the elderly. We are very grateful for these grants, although they are not much. I think we need to be grateful that we are receiving them, but the government needs to consider the old people,” he said.

He questioned how older grant recipients cope with rising costs.

“How are they to manage on these amounts. In most cases they run a household with their grant and with the cost of living it is very hard,” he said.

Unemployment remains his biggest worry

The recipient holds a matric and has experience in construction and general labour. He is unemployed and looking for work.

He named unemployment as his biggest financial concern. If he could change one thing about SASSA, he would increase the grant amount.

His story reflects the reality for many SRD grant recipients, for whom the R370 monthly payment covers only a fraction of household needs. Yet for families like his, it often makes the difference between having something to eat and having nothing at all.

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