The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) will pay persons with disabilities early payments for the month of April, in an effort to lower the risk of coronavirus by reducing congestion at retailers and banks.
In a statement, Sassa said it had been inundated with concerns about grant payments for April in light of the Covid-19 infections in the country.
The payment of social grants for the elderly and persons with disabilities will be administered from the 30th of March.
The agency’s Henry De Grass says all other grants, like child support grants, should be collected from 1 April.
The decision to bring forward the payment of April’s grants by two days is in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, which has seen 240 cases in South Africa as of Saturday 21 March.
The move by the agency is in a bid to lower the risk of Covid-19 infections by reducing congestion at the Post Office, retailers and banks where grants are often collected.
It’s believed that the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the virus.
De Grass says beneficiaries who normally collect their grants at cash pay points, will be able to do so from the 1st of April.
He has urged beneficiaries to avoid collecting their grants on the first day of payment due to prevent large crowds of people.
