Covid-19: More than 7-million social grants paid out on day one

The social development department said it had processed about 4.2-million transactions to the tune of R3.7bn for social grants on Monday.

In addition, 3.1-million beneficiaries were paid through commercial banks.

Payments of social grants to the elderly and persons with disabilities are being staggered through the week to curb overcrowding and long queues.

Glitches reported in some areas included long queues and failure to comply with social distancing and hygiene guidelines at some pay outlets.

There were also reported cases of depletion of cash at some post office outlets because of higher than normal numbers of people.

Social development minister Lindiwe Zulu, accompanied by Gauteng acting social development MEC Panyaza Lesufi, visited some pay points on Monday to monitor compliance with the lockdown regulations and measures to contain the further spread of the virus.  

“We could not have asked for a better start. We are pleased that in most areas we visited, social grant beneficiaries heeded our call to give older persons and persons with disabilities an opportunity to be the first to access their grants,” said Zulu.

The post office and the majority of retailers provided chairs, trolleys, hand sanitisers and queue walkers to ensure compliance with hygiene and social-distancing guidelines recommended by the health department.

Zulu said she was saddened to learn about the death of two elderly people on Monday.

“I express my deepest and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the deceased. Both of them were confirmed to be social grant beneficiaries at the time of their passing ,and I have instructed the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) to process their payments without any delays,” she said.

 Zulu has directed social workers to provide psycho-social support services to the families of the deceased.