Social-grant beneficiaries in and around Louis Trichardt say their grants have either been paid short or not at all this month. Some pensioners report consistent shortfalls of between R100 and R280 over the past two months.
During a visit to the Makhado office of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) on Monday, 7 July, dozens of people were seen standing in long queues. Some said they had arrived as early as 04:00 that morning but left without assistance because of slow processing. Many had travelled long distances from villages such as Siloam, Tshitale and Elim — often without money for transport.
Edward Mpofu from Mpheni village accompanied his wife, who had not received her grant. "We got here just before 05:00. It's hard going up and down at our age," he said. "My daughter works in Johannesburg and sends money for my wife and her two children. SASSA said they needed to verify the source of this income. But my wife has been receiving the grant since 2018. This has never happened before."
They were asked to bring his ID, bank card and their marriage certificate. By the time the office closed at 16:30, more than 80 people had not been assisted. Some were told to go to the police station to get affidavits.
Dorah Mbengeni from Elim said R300 had been missing from her grant for the past two months. "It hurts, because R300 is a lot for me. It was taken without my consent. I don't owe anyone," she said. Her bank statement confirmed the deduction came directly from SASSA. "The cost of living is high, and we also use the money to buy water," she added.
Nakampe Semosa said about R190 has always been missing from his grant. SASSA staff told him he had joined a policy — which he denies. "I already pay for two policies by hand. I even submitted an affidavit, but nothing has changed. They can't even give me the name of this policy," he said, adding that the shortfalls had forced him to borrow from loan sharks.
Lerisa Martha (68) said the problem had started last year. "At first I thought it was normal. But now it's hard to survive, especially with three grandchildren to support," she said.
Limpopo Mirror spoke to three cash lenders operating in the Elim area, who confirmed that some of their pensioner clients regularly receive only R1,900 instead of the full R2,315 grant. One of them, who asked to remain anonymous, said she once asked a client to provide a bank statement, and it showed that the reduced amount had been paid directly by SASSA.
"Most pensioners often receive short payments, but some eventually get more - perhaps when SASSA picks up on the issue," she said.
Tebogo Tshipi, SASSA Limpopo's regional spokesperson, told Limpopo Mirror that the agency did not deduct money without consent and urged affected beneficiaries to visit their nearest offices. She said 702 beneficiaries had been selected for review this month in Makhado, and all delayed payments had been processed on Monday.
However, several beneficiaries said they were still waiting to receive their grants. Tshipi said those experiencing issues could contact the SASSA call centre at 0800 60 10 11 or email grantenquiries@sassa.gov.za.