GEORGE NEWS - A couple in their 80s recently visited the George Sassa office for a 07:30 appointment, but had to wait for almost five hours before being served.
According to Giel du Toit, they had been experiencing trouble with the payout of their Sassa pension and he had gone to the office to find out what the problem was.
He was then given a date and time - Monday 14 November at 07:30 - to return, with the necessary application forms for a re-application for the old age pension.
On the day, they arrived a little before 07:30 to make sure they were on time. But it had not been necessary to be in a hurry, they realised much later. They sat in the waiting area till 12:00 before being called.
Du Toit says the other people in the waiting area who were called before them were all younger people and children.
The Du Toits were not allowed to remain together to be served by the same official, which made the experience even more taxing as Du Toit is the one in the family who takes care of all the paperwork and his wife needs his assistance.
The man who was serving Du Toit got up in the middle of the appointment and went over to another man with whom he chatted for a long time.
"The two were having a laugh together, so it was not something urgent or important they were discussing. We are not people who complain easily, but we feel this is not the kind of service that the elderly should have to face."
George Herald has been waiting since 21 November for the department's comment. Sassa's director of communications, Shivani Wahab, on 2 December said, "I am unfortunately still awaiting a final answer from our George local office management and core business, to provide you with facts on what transpired at the office. Sassa remains committed to providing a dignified service to clients."
She offered assistance to the Du Toits via the Sassa Customer Care Unit.
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