HERMAN MASHABA | Pensioners must not beg for what they’ve already earned

A society reveals its true character in how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. This week, I witnessed something that should disturb every South African, regardless of political affiliation. What I encountered at a Sassa (SA Social Security Agency) office in Maponya Mall in Soweto was not merely an administrative failure; it was a human tragedy unfolding in plain sight.

The stories I heard were heartbreaking. Elderly South Africans who depend on social grants to survive had not received their payments for months. Many had been instructed to return repeatedly to resolve problems, only to arrive and find offices understaffed, systems offline, and officials unable to assist them.

Some had been standing in queues since before sunrise with no certainty that they would receive help before the end of the day.

These are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a deeper governance crisis. Across SA, citizens are increasingly expected to tolerate failures that would be unacceptable in any functioning state.

The elderly people standing in those queues were not asking for special treatment. They were seeking access to support they are legally entitled to receive. Many spent decades working, raising families and contributing to the development of our country. Yet, today, they’re being treated as if their dignity is optional.

One encounter remains impossible to forget. I met an elderly diabetic woman who had collapsed after spending hours trying to resolve issues relating to her grant. She had not eaten and did not have money to buy food. She was visibly distressed and in tears.

No pensioner in a democratic SA should find themselves in such circumstances. What troubled me even more was hearing that some pensioners were being directed to other Sassa offices in different areas to resolve their cases.

How does government expect someone who has gone without an income for two months to pay for transport? How does a pensioner travel across Johannesburg when they cannot afford food?

The consequences of these failures extend far beyond inconvenience. For many households, a pension grant is the only reliable source of income. It pays for food, electricity, transport, medication and school-related expenses for grandchildren. When that income disappears, entire families suffer.

This is why social grants are not merely financial transactions. They are lifelines. When government fails to deliver them efficiently, it places vulnerable citizens at risk.

The crisis facing pensioners also reflects a broader pattern that is becoming increasingly visible across SA. Government failures are affecting both the oldest and the youngest generations. Our elderly are standing in queues waiting for grants that do not arrive. Our youth are standing in queues searching for jobs that do not exist.

Youth unemployment remains one of the greatest threats to SA’s future. Entire communities are being hollowed out by hopelessness. In that environment, drugs and criminal networks often step into the vacuum left by economic exclusion.

The result is devastating. Families are torn apart. Communities become less safe. Economic growth stagnates. Human potential is wasted.

The connection between these challenges is clear. When institutions fail, vulnerable people suffer first. When accountability weakens, service delivery deteriorates. When leadership becomes disconnected from reality, ordinary citizens bear the cost.

I, therefore, make a direct appeal to the minister of social development, the Gauteng government, and the City of Johannesburg to intervene urgently. The affected pensioners require immediate assistance. Their cases must be resolved without delay. Their payments must be restored.

Additional support must be provided to ensure that no elderly person is forced to travel long distances simply to correct problems they did not create. This is not a matter that can be postponed. Every day of delay means another day without food for vulnerable households.

The measure of government is not found in speeches, policy documents or public relations campaigns. It is found in the lived experiences of citizens. It is found in whether a grandmother receives her grant on time. It is found in whether a young person can find meaningful work. It is found in whether public institutions respond to people with urgency, competence and compassion.

The pensioners I met do not need sympathy. They need action. They need a government that sees them, hears them, and treats them with the dignity they deserve. SA’s elderly carried this nation on their shoulders for decades. They should not spend their final years standing in endless queues, hungry, exhausted and forgotten.

If we cannot protect the people who spent their lives building this country, then we have lost sight of the very purpose of government. The tears of a hungry grandmother or grandfather should move us all.

The suffering of our pensioners cannot become another statistic. The government must act now, not tomorrow, not next week, but today because dignity delayed is dignity denied.

• Mashaba is founder and leader of ActionSA