MAMELODI – Two people collapsed while waiting in the sweltering heat outside the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) office in Mamelodi last week, raising serious concerns about service delivery and conditions for vulnerable social grant beneficiaries.
The distressing incidents occurred while a GroundUp reporter was present at the site. The long queues, filled mostly with elderly individuals and people with disabilities, are a familiar and frustrating sight outside the office. Beneficiaries are now demanding quicker service, better queue management, and more humane treatment from staff.
The first person to collapse was Isaac Msiza, a 36-year-old man with epilepsy who was at the Mamelodi SASSA office to reapply for his disability grant. He had been waiting in the scorching sun for more than two hours when he started to feel dizzy. His body began to shake uncontrollably before he collapsed to the ground.
Two People Collapse Waiting in Heat for Grant Assistance in Mamelodi
“I come here often to reapply for my disability grant,” Msiza said. “Sometimes I find three long queues that move very slowly. SASSA workers must attend to us faster because we are sick and want to go home to take our medication.”
According to Msiza, a female security guard assisted him after his collapse by taking his documents inside on his behalf.
Only ten minutes after Msiza’s collapse, an elderly woman sitting on a chair in the queue fainted and had to be taken inside for assistance. Her identity remains unknown, but witnesses described her as visibly weak and fatigued after waiting in line for hours.
The two incidents sparked outrage among others in the queue, who accused the SASSA staff of being slow and dismissive of people’s medical needs. Many said they routinely spend hours outside the office without access to water, shade, or seating.
One of the people in line, Sinnah Madimela, said she became disabled four months ago after a farming accident involving a tractor. She now depends on a disability grant and has faced repeated delays at the Mamelodi SASSA office.
“SASSA workers keep us waiting for more than three hours,” Madimela said. “When we finally get inside, they just look at our papers for a few minutes and tell us to come back after two months. It’s unfair.”
Other applicants echoed her frustration, describing how frail and elderly people are made to stand for long periods without support. Some expressed fear that more people could collapse or face medical emergencies if the situation continues unchecked.
Sesame Kgabi, spokesperson for SASSA in Gauteng, confirmed the two collapse incidents and said the elderly woman was stabilized on the scene by agency staff.
“The causes may be related to their medical conditions,” Kgabi said. “The Mamelodi office services a high number of applicants, and sometimes we are unable to serve them all due to volume and network delays.”
Kgabi acknowledged that long wait times are a recurring issue and explained that SASSA follows a “first-come, first-served” queuing system, although serious medical conditions may allow for expedited service in some cases.
She urged beneficiaries to consider using SASSA’s online self-service platform to reduce in-person demand at offices. However, she admitted that many applicants, especially the elderly and disabled, may struggle with online systems due to limited digital literacy or access to technology.
While the agency promotes digital channels as a solution, many beneficiaries say that’s not practical for people with low income, no internet access, or limited mobility.
“There is no electricity where I live, never mind data or smartphones,” said one elderly applicant. “Even if I could go online, who will help me understand what to do?”
Community leaders in Mamelodi are calling on SASSA to improve infrastructure at local offices—such as providing shaded waiting areas, more chairs, drinking water, and better staffing—to prevent further medical emergencies like the two people who collapsed last week.
As temperatures rise and queues grow longer, the collapse of two people in a single day outside the Mamelodi SASSA office highlights a troubling failure in the delivery of essential social services. Vulnerable populations—including the elderly, disabled, and chronically ill—deserve to be treated with dignity, respect, and urgency.
Without meaningful changes in how services are administered, incidents like these may continue—and worsen. For now, beneficiaries wait, not just in line, but for a system that better understands and supports their basic needs.
Source – EWN
