‘Why don’t I qualify?’: Gauteng pensioner left in the dark by SASSA

A retired Gauteng pensioner says he still doesn’t understand why his SASSA application was turned down, leaving his household of up to five people without the support he believes he’s entitled to.

Zephania Ntuli is a Zulu-speaking man in his late sixties. On paper, he fits the profile for the Old Age Pension, which pays R2 400 a month to South Africans aged 60 and older. In practice, he’s been locked out of the system for less than a year since he tried to access it.

SASSA’s silence leaves the pensioner guessing

Ntuli’s core frustration isn’t the rejection itself; it’s the lack of explanation. Asked to rate SASSA’s communication with recipients, he chose the lowest option: very poor.

He says he’s received no clear guidance on why his application failed or what he could do to fix it. His question was simple and direct: why doesn’t he qualify for a grant?

A household going without food

The consequences of the rejection have been immediate. Ntuli confirmed that someone in his home has gone without food in the past month, and he says the household regularly struggles to cover basic needs. Also, his biggest financial worry right now is the rising cost of living and food prices, pressures compounding an income shortfall that shouldn’t exist for a man who meets the pension’s basic criteria. He also tried applying for other forms of government support but was told he didn’t qualify for anything else.

What he wants changed

Despite the setbacks, Ntuli hasn’t given up. He’s signed up to receive The South African’s SASSA grants guide in the hope of finding answers. Asked what single change he’d make to the system, he responded with a common complaint among applicants nationwide: faster, simpler applications.

His story lands amid a broader cost-of-living crisis, with unemployment above 32% and food inflation squeezing millions of households, including the 18 million South Africans who do receive a SASSA grant each month.

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