Frustration, hopelessness and hunger as millions are denied social relief of distress grants - Threshold changes, uncertainty and language barriers leave people without the meagre lifeline
“The grant is not a lot of money, but it helped so much as I bought vegetables with it to sell it here,” she says as she points to the side of the main road, lined with makeshift tables displaying pineapples and bananas for sale.
Even though that process was difficult, Gumede says she worries about collecting at the bank in town, which is 30 minutes away and costs R64 for a return trip. Desperate to change the declined status on her application, she has appealed once more and added her bank details as the means to receive the money.
“These databases have serious flaws and approximately 40% of applicants have been unfairly declined due to this. Bank verification with means testing will remain a huge problem going forward as any funds received into a bank account or via Cashsend or money markets are considered as income. This is the reason why approximately 70% of declined applicants have been declined [because they have been identified as having an alternative source of income]”.
On Wednesday, it was announced that the country’s consumer price inflation had increased to 7.8% year on year in July, driven by exorbitant increases in petrol. This is the highest level since May 2009.