Central SA
Youths shake down #CoronavirusFS beneficiaries─── 07:48 Fri, 27 Nov 2020
Grant beneficiaries in the Eastern Free State are being strong-armed by drug-using youths to part with their money - in exchange for a spot in the queue to collect their cash.
Customers at most of the Post Office branches in Qwaqwa arrive early in the morning to stand in line for their Covid-19 relief grants, but every morning there is a line made up of street kids who will only make space for those collecting money if they get a R50 slice of the pie. Grant recipients, who rely on only R350, say they can't afford this.
The Thabo Mofutsanyana District Service Delivery Forum's spokesperson, Thabo Mokoena, says one Post Office branch manager said they are not responsible for what happens outside their doors.
Spokesperson for the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) in the Free State, Motsewa Maleka, tells OFM News the matter is out of their hands, adding it is the obligation of the Post Office to ensure that the lines run smoothly.
Post Office managers at the affected branches say they have no authorisation to speak to the media.
OFM News/Tumelo Khotha
