Govt again 'letting poor down, badly, callously, obscenely' says John Maytham

John Maytham vents about temporarily disabled people having to stand in long queues and getting water cannons fired at them.

Our billionaire president says he feels sad that there is no money?

John Maytham, Presenter - CapeTalk

RELATED: Videos of police water spray queueing Sassa grant crowds in Bellville

I feel angry, I really feel angry about it.

John Maytham, Presenter - CapeTalk

John says watching the video footage of police using water cannons outside the Sassa office in Bellville this morning to spray Sassa grant recipients queueing to have their temporary Sassa grants reinstated

Water canons! On people who are queuing to try and get their disability grants reinstated. Not all of them are elderly but they are all in a position to have at one stage in the last year, been granted a temporary disability grant.

John Maytham, Presenter - CapeTalk

These are not healthy people, says John. These are people who are disabled in some way. And then, he adds, Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu is on the scene expressing concern that people there are not socially distancing.

The concerns get transmitted to police and they say if you don't socially distance we will use the water cannons.

John Maytham, Presenter - CapeTalk

But the crowd does not socially distance because they are desperate to be attended to on this day to get the R1800 grant to survive, says John.

Yes, of course, they should socially distance, but a much, much, much more important 'of course', is that this situation is absolutely the responsibility of the government generally and the dept of social development.

John Maytham, Presenter - CapeTalk

It was only towards the end of December that there were indications these temporary disability grants would lapse, and need to reapply he adds.

Did someone go back into the office after a drunken, well-fed Christmas and say 'oh goodness me we've got no money to pay December and January disability grants. I know let's make people reapply, yes that's a brilliant idea.'

John Maytham, Presenter - CapeTalk

How can the department not have been aware that the money was going to run out, bemoans John? They would have known that months ago and found a solution.

Surely they would have had some level of compassion, he suggests.

Because to make even temporarily disabled people stand in inevitably longer queues than usual and go through this red-tape Stygian nightmare to get their grants reinstatement was not a good idea.

John Maytham, Presenter - CapeTalk

Yet another example of this government that proclaims to act on behalf of the poor...letting the poor down. badly, callously, obscenely.

John Maytham, Presenter - CapeTalk

I'm so angry I can't even get angry if that makes any sense whatsoever.

John Maytham, Presenter - CapeTalk

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