This will assist them with medical bills, nutritious food and paying caregivers
Johannesburg: The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has called on grant recipients who already receive an old-age, disability or war veterans grant, to apply for a grant-in-aid which can be used to assist with medical bills, nutritious food purchases, and compensating the person taking care of the frail.
Sassa said those who qualified for a grant-in-aid were those who were already receiving an old-age, disability or war veterans grant. It said applicants would need to show they required regular attendance by another person because of their physical or mental disabilities.
To qualify, Sassa Mpumalanga spokesperson Senzeni Ngubeni said the recipient must not be cared for at an institution that already receives a state subsidy.
“Applicants who do not have an identity document, smart ID or birth certificate for the children involved in the application can still apply for a grant but must check with the nearest Sassa office on which alternative documents are accepted for grant applications,” he said.
“Sassa has noted with concern that most frail recipients of old-age grants, disability grants and war veterans grants do not come forward to Sassa offices to apply for a grant-in-aid.
“Sassa cares about the conditions of frail, elderly people not receiving proper tender care which can be ascribed to many social ill factors in some communities.
“One of Sassa’s primary objectives is to conduct an awareness to teach families with frail grant recipients to come to any nearby Sassa office to apply for this additional grant.”
Sassa said those who were successful with their applications could be paid within three months.
“The payments will be backdated to the day the application for the grant was completed.
“The grant-in-aid will be cancelled if the beneficiary is no longer in the care of another person, if they pass on, or if they get admitted to a state institution, and if the income or assets improve so much that they no longer qualify in terms of the means test,” Ngubeni said.
For more details, contact Sassa on 0800 60 10 11, Mondays to Fridays, from 8am to 4pm,
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