Into endiyaziyo kukuba ikomiti ye-Sassa yadibana nathi amatyeli amaninzi. Kumba wemigca emide, bathi baza kuzama ukwenzela abantu amadinga ukuze kungabikho migca. [What I know is that the Sassa board met with us many times. Regarding long queues, they have said they will try to arrange appointments with the people in order to reduce them.]
But there is something they do not know, that our people, even if the office opens at 5:00, will wake up at 5:00 and go and wait at the offices. They won't wait for 8:00. I still have my mother, who is getting a pension. I have a car ...
... kodwa umama uza kuthi uza kundilibalisa ngemoto yakho, ndiyavuka mna ekuseni ndiyahamba mntanam ngebhasi. [... but my mother will say, "you will delay me with your car, I'm waking up in the morning and I will take a bus, my child."]
So, that's how old people are - they would rather sleep there and wait for 8:00.
I would like the DA to go to the stall. There's a Sassa stall outside the Old Assembly; you'll get all the answers there. I went there before I came here. Those people were saying that some of the people who go there are people who are not beneficiaries per se, but ...
... bayaya kuba banqatyelwe yimisebenzi, umntu athi ndiza kuya kufolela; ndiza kuya kuhlala phaya ekuseni. [... they go because they are unemployed; a person will say I will queue for you, I will go and sit there in the morning.]
But, you'll wonder why, when you are looking at them on TV, you find that these people are young. These people have organised, oops, sorry, the DA ... [Laughter.] ... has organised these people. On TV there were people there who had new blankets. My chairperson even said, "These blankets are new." They took the media there so that it would look like there was a queue. We were looking at them and seeing that these people were young and the blankets they had were new. Ndathi sisiketshi silungiselelwe unyulo. [I said it was just a drama produced for the elections.]
I want to say to you that when you are canvassing for elections, you should please tell the people that the reason why we don't have roads and we don't have houses is because ... [Interjections.] ... of you. So, we don't mind your criticising us, but do it constructively. Don't do what you are doing, because the hon Kopane is always present in our committees and she has all the answers from Sassa. Today there is not one question or answer that she has! These people are really surprising. [Laughter.]
Xa ndigqiba,... [Uwelewele.] ndicela uMphathiswa wam uBathabile ukuba asincede. Kusekho iindawo ezisahluphekayo phaya emaphandleni. Mphathiswa, ndicela, ukuba uzame ukujonga, ingakumbi kwela cala laseMpuma Koloni, mhlawumbi naKwaZulu-Natal. Kusekho iindawo afuneka kuzo uSassa, ngoko ke makanikwe imali eyongezelelekileyo. Andinakuphika naba bantu bandikhumbuza eliya yeza kwakusithiwa ngubulala zonke loomakhulu elalibulal' iincukuthu. Bafana nelaa yeza lingubulala zonke. Uza nale nto uthi iza kunceda, bayigxeke. Ubeke le, ubeke uSassa, noba ungamsusa uSassa ubeke enye abazi kuyifuna, akukhonto bayifunayo ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[In conclusion ... [Interjections.] I want to plead with my hon Minister Bathabile to help us. In the rural areas there are areas that are still in the throes of poverty. I plead with you, hon Minister, to pay attention. Especially to the Eastern Cape, and perhaps KwaZulu-Natal; there are still places where Sassa is needed. Therefore, the budget allocation must be increased. I can't concern myself with these people, who remind me of the insecticide that was used by our grandmothers to kill bedbugs. They are the same as that pesticide. You introduce this and think it will help, and they criticise it. You introduce this, you introduce Sassa, even if you can remove Sassa and introduce something else they will reject it. They will accept nothing ...]