‘They don’t hear our voices’: SASSA grant recipient’s message days before the elections

As South Africa prepares to vote, one grant recipient says the people who depend on social grants feel ignored by those in power.

Maggie Cloete shared her frustration in the comments section on The South African’s Facebook page, linking the upcoming election to the daily struggle of surviving on a grant.

“Voting we can’t even afford to buy enough food,” she wrote.

Grants paid days before the vote

The timing of Cloete’s comment comes as SASSA adjusts its payment calendar around the polls. The agency announced revised payment dates for social grants in November 2026 ahead of the Local Government Elections on 4 November.

Older persons’ grants will be paid on Friday, 30 October, followed by disability grants on Monday, 2 November, and children’s grants on Tuesday, 3 November.

SASSA spokesperson Dr Paseka Letsatsi said the revised schedule followed extensive consultations with stakeholders to keep payments efficient, secure and minimally disrupted during the election period.

Cloete, however, was unimpressed by the Friday date, calling it a “shame” and asking, “how they even go in with this”.

‘We can’t do with R2 400’

For Cloete, the bigger issue is not when the money arrives but how far it goes.

“They don’t hear our voices we can’t do with R 2400,” she wrote.

Older persons and disability grants are both set at R2 400. Cloete said that amount must stretch across food and electricity, leaving many households with little to spare.

With older persons set to be paid on Friday and voters heading to the polls the following Wednesday, many grant recipients will be weighing their monthly budget and their ballot in the same week.

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