SWAZILAND: Pay Day for the Elderly

Mbabane, Swaziland (The Swazi Observer), February 10, 2006: ‘YOU mean I’ll be able to buy mealie-meal tomorrow?’ That’s the first question posed by Gogo Priscilla S’khosana (nee Dlamini) upon learning that government had finally rid itself of bureaucracies and would from today pay the elderly a social grant of E240, quarterly. S’khosana does not know her age and asked this newspaper to make a guess. Government yesterday announced that the delays were caused by a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to ascertain the number of deserving elderly persons out there, location, etc. The survey found that they were close to 45,000 in the entire country. The grants have been backdated to October last year. Breaking the good news was Director of the Social Welfare Department at the ministry, Eric Maziya. Meanwhile, His Majesty King Mswati III, speaking from the Throne last year, announced that E30 million had been set aside for the elderly’s social grant. However, the age limit is 60 years and above for those who would access it and for a start, only those with Personal Identity Numbers (PINs). “It must be clarified that those to receive the grants appear in our computers, that is, they have PINs. We’ve categorised them according to their tinkhundla centres and they would access their grants from the nearest post office,” he said. The Swaziland Posts and Telecommunication Corporation will receive E1 per transaction. Should all 45,000 elderly people qualify for the grant, and payment backdated to October, government will part with at least E43 million. Registered beneficiaries were requested to collect verification slips from Social Welfare Officers who will be available at the post offices before collecting payment from the postal counters. The payments would be made in cash according to Maziya. He said the post office was viewed as more convenient to banks. The E240 received on a quarterly basis means the elderly would receive E60 monthly. Gogo S’khosana was excited when the news was broken to her and only old age inhibited her from expressing her delight through dancing. She said she had 10 children (nine boys and a girl) but was now left with only two after the others died. The two are unemployed and Gogo relies on donations from Good Samaritans for survival. Also sharing his delight at the news was an elderly man, Sibusiso Lukhele, who said such was a good move. However, Lukhele will not receive the grant since he is about 56 years old. Nevertheless, he said he was pleased with government's move. “These people have no one to support them but rely on donations. Worse still, they don’t have the energy to fend for themselves,” he stated. While welcoming the announcement, Johannes Mkhuluza Zwane of the Umtfunti Old Age Association, expressed concern in that the elderly still had to travel the length and breath of the country to access the grants. “Had the grants been placed at tinkhundla centres, it would have made a world of difference. For instance, Khabonina of Ngcoseni is far from the Mankayane town. Still, this is an inconvenience to the elderly. “Again, the grants are not enough when one takes into consideration that they are released quarterly; the E240 should have been a monthly grant,” Zwane said. He said those who would be collecting their grants in Manzini and other notorious places could fall victim of robbers as the populous city was infamous for its high crime rate. No doubt, Zwane noted, robbers would be preying on the unsuspecting elderly. By Njabulo Dlamini