Cape Town residents are risking their lives by sleeping outside the Beautiful Gate offices, just to be first in the queue for assistance.
They arrive from as early as 3 pm the previous day to secure their spot. Some sleep on the pavement while others sit on old chairs and buckets.
These beneficiaries say they are tired of being sent back home without receiving assistance, so they have decided to take matters into their own hands.
One beneficiary, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of not receiving assistance, stated, "I have been sent back a few times because I arrived in the morning around 4 am, I was shocked to find that there are people who sleep here so that they can be first in the queue.
"I decided to do the same because I need the money."
Mzimasi Mateza, 40, is among those sleeping outside the offices. He calls on Sassa to find them a safer place for them to sleep, saying, "Sassa needs to ask the Beautiful Gate to give us the hall inside so that we can sleep because it's cold and too dangerous.
"Sassa employees are not sympathetic to our plight, with some being moody and complaining about the system's slow pace."
Nomakholwa Matikinca, 43, slept outside the offices even though she had an appointment, stating, "It doesn't matter if you have the appointment or not, they don't hesitate to send you back home. Hence I opted on coming and sleeping here."
Sassa spokesperson in Western Cape, Shivan Wahab, said that the Sassa Gugulethu office has a significant demand for services linked to a high influx of clients.
"Based on this, Beautiful Gate began operating as a fixed site in March 2022. The site is operational like all other Sassa offices, from Monday to Friday daily and is an extension of services to cater to the high demand in the community."
She said that sleepovers are never an option for any Sassa client. "Sassa has been reiterating the hazard of this practice to clients."
According to her, the appointment system was introduced to mitigate long waiting periods in the equally long queue. At no point should any client have to sleep over at any contact point for access to services.
"Clients have the option of accessing the Sassa office most convenient to them. Alternatively, Sassa introduced an online application system during Covid-19 to make services more accessible," said Wahab.
