While Postbank denied any problems with pension payouts, some elderly people had to spend days queueing for their money as yet another payout point in Mthatha ran out of cash this week.

Several pensioners returned to the Mthatha Town Hall for the third day on Wednesday in the hope of collecting their grants after the facility ran out of money on Monday and Tuesday.

About 20 pensioners who were in the queue on Wednesday said they arrived on Tuesday morning but had been told at 4pm to "turn back" as the money had run out.

Some of them had to borrow transport money to return home and get something to eat. By Wednesday, they were frustrated.

Mthatha Town Hall is used as an alternative for grant beneficiaries to collect their money on pension paydays.

Villages in the OR Tambo District Municipality have been identified as some of the poorest in the country and most households depend on social grants to survive.

The latest available data for the district is contained in the municipal integrated development plan.

According to this document, 1.27 million people were living in poverty across this municipality - 15.4% higher than the 1.1 million in 2010.

In some rural households, a single social grant is expected to sustain between six and 10 family members.

Pensioners said they often have to borrow money for taxi fees to collect their...