Long queues – without much attention to physical distancing – were evident outside Stanger Post Office last Thursday as hundreds of people queued for their Covid-19 relief grant.

The R350 payment to the unemployed during the pandemic is currently being collected at post offices.

Among those in the queue (some without masks) were seniors and mothers with children.

Much of the same was witnessed outside Tongaat post office.

Despite attempts by the South African Post Office to control the queues using staggered SMS messages, asking beneficiaries to visit their nearest post office to receive their grant only when their grant was ready for collection, this appeared not to be working.

Post Office spokesperson Johan Kruger said many customers were going to their branches before their R350 Covid relief grant was ready.

“If you applied for the R350 grant, you will receive two SMS messages.

“The first SMS will let you know if your application was approved or declined. The second SMS will ask you to go to a Post Office to collect your R350, because the money is ready for you. Nobody should go collect before they have received the second SMS.”

The SMS notification is used to limit the numbers of people reporting to a Post Office on a particular day.

More than 3,4 million accounts have been opened by the Post Office for citizens to receive the R350 Covid relief grant.

Beneficiaries have been asked not to collect their R350 during the first week of each month from August to October.

This has been set aside for payment of old age, disability and child grants.

However, delayed payments resulted in many people standing for hours only to find no money at the end of the wait.

Kruger said the payout delays were caused by logistical challenges after unexpected numbers of beneficiaries arrived to collect their special Covid-19 grant, resulting in some Post Offices running out of cash early.

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) at the beginning of August also allowed beneficiaries of the Covid-19 grant one week to change from receiving their grant at post offices to a bank account of their choice.

According to SASSA, this was in response to the challenges experienced by some beneficiaries at post offices.

“The challenges reported include long queues and the fact that funds run out at times. Beneficiaries end up being sent home empty-handed,” said Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi.

Responses to frequently asked questions about this relief grant can be found via WhatsApp at 082 046 8553.