By: Zethu Gweva
Ward 17 Disability Committee Chairperson Sandile Mxhalisa is pleading for the government’s intervention to assist people living with disabilities to get employment, houses and disability grants.
According to Mxhalisa who lives with a condition called Polio, he has written numerous reports to the municipality, stating the challenges they face as disabled people but until this day they have not received any correspondence.
“As disabled people, we feel that we are being neglected by our community leaders and the government. We have written a number of reports to the municipality but no response.’’
A mother of a 30-year-old man living with an Epileptic seizures condition, Nomana Siphika said her son Thamsanqa Siphika received his permanent disability grant of R10500 in 2003 with the help of social workers from Masizane Training Centre where he was a student.
She added that on December 31, 2019, he was shocked to receive an amount of R200 instead of R10500 without being given any reason.
“We informed the social workers about the matter and they referred us to the psychologist for a report stating the reason why he should get the grant money and why he should attend a special school. The psychologist gave us a runaround and said the doctor gave him a report and nothing was fixed,” said Siphika.
In-addition, Siphika said that after some time they received a letter from the social workers, stating that he was given a disability grant only for six months and for him to receive it again he would have to be on treatment for another six months.
“We had to reapply for his disability grant and he had to take his treatment for six months in order to receive his grant again,” said Siphika.
“My son is mentally unstable, the anger he has is frightening. He could kill a person. He even swears at me and accuses me of stealing his money,” she said.
When asked about the cases reported by the Disability Committee, ward 17 Councillor Phumla Yenana said she is not in a position to comment on such cases.
Eastern Department of Social Development spokesperson Gcobani Maswana said if Siphika claims they were robbed by social workers, they will investigate the matter because that is a crime.
“If they claim that they were robbed by social workers, It is our responsibility as the department to get the details and investigate the matter as it is a crime not to pay someone his or her social grant,” said Maswana.
Maswana added that the department has a special programmes unit set aside to assist people living with disabilities and also work with the Buffalo Metro City Municipality through integration programmes to assist disabled people.
“They must go to the municipality to get information on the programmes we serve with the municipality to skill people living with disabilities, which later gives them a chance to get employment,” said Maswana.
Buffalo City News was unable to reach Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality Spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya for a comment.