A team of social workers have rescued an elderly Sassa grant beneficiary who was locked inside a house with no food in Lindelani, North of Durban.
KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza, said a team of social workers had been sent out to rescue the 76-yea-old woman from the house.
She also warned that anyone who had used her SASSA grant for their own gain would be arrested.
The department said in a statement that a terrified passer-by allegedly heard screams and cries of an elderly person pleading for help, coming from a house in Lindelani area Upon investigating the locked house, people noticed an old person identified as Sizakele Siziba, 76, sleeping on the bed.
It is believed that the woman, who was drawing a Sassa grant and living with a younger relative, had been left alone in a terrible condition, relying at times on neighbours to provide her with food.
“We disturbed by continuous incidents of abuse of older persons in our communities. We are not expecting that our senior citizens suffer such abuse from their own children.
It is disheartening that we find ourselves in this situation because we always encourage people to inform us if they are unable to take care of senior citizens,” Khoza said.
Khoza Siziba had been taken to an old age home where she will be provided with psychosocial support, including debriefing and trauma counselling.
“Although social workers are still going to conduct an investigation based on what was shared with us by the public, including the video circulating on social media, our team has removed Gogo Siziba to a safer and more comfortable environment,” she said.
“However, removing her is not good enough. We also want to know who has been using her old age grant. These grants are an intervention to cushion old persons from poverty.
It is a crime for anyone to take the pension of an older person and fail to provide food for them,” Khoza said.
She added that anyone who had taken the woman’s pension and spent on themselves would be arrested.
“We will open a criminal case against the person while ensuring that this grandmother gets a new SASSA card to collect her grant.
As the department, we share the pain of old persons who suffer in the hands of those who are supposed to protect them.
We will continue to give them our unwavering support, while ensuring removal of those found in unpleasant situations and place them in old age homes to ensure their welfare, healthcare and safety,” Khosa said.
Khoza said that as a custodian for the protection of vulnerable groups her department would work closely with the police to ensure that any person who violates the rights of children, older persons and persons with disabilities gets arrested.
“One cannot pass judgement on the situation of the old person rescued from the Lindelani house, but nothing can ever justify leaving her in a locked house without anything to eat, while government pays her grant on a monthly basis.