SINDISWA Mbulawa (52) from Marhambeni village in Mthatha is crying for help from government for her late sister’s four kids.
Sindiswa said she applied for a foster care grant in September last year and went to check a couple of times.
But this month she was told to wait another three months!
“They told me they were still investigating my sister as she fraudulently received grant money when she was still alive.
“I don’t understand.
“She is dead, so are they investigating the children?” Sindiswa asked.
Sindiswa is fostering three of the children – seven-year-old twins and a 13-year-old boy. The older one, who is 21 years old, dropped out of school last year to help bring up her siblings after their mother died.
She added that there were nine members in total in the family as she also had four of her own children.
They survive on the child support grants of her two grandchildren.
“They don’t have full school uniforms. It’s difficult to put food on the table.
“I’m begging the department of social development to assist. Three months is too long,” she cried.
Sassa provincial spokeswoman Sandy Godlwana said it was their responsibility to investigate whenever irregularities had occurred.
“The system showed that one of the children’s fingerprint was a duplicate of the other, so their grants were suspended and an investigation was launched.”
But she added that the agency was in the process of approving the application.
“This process may take up to two months.”
She advised Sindiswa to visit social workers to apply for Social Relief of Distress, food parcels and school uniforms in the meantime.
