SPTC DOES THE TRICK FOR ELDERLY

SwaziPost employees assiting the elderly to receive their grants. (Pics: Sibusiso Shange)

MBABANE – Elderly people were yesterday smiling from ear to ear as they received their monthly social grants through the post office for the first time.

The pilot project turned out to be a huge success as a majority of the elderly interviewed gave it a thumbs up saying the process had been easy and fast and one adding that, “for once, I will get home while the sun is still out”.

Yesterday saw the launch of the pilot project for the payment of the grants through SwaziPost and the office of the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM).
The only hiccup the old people had was that the E240 was too little for one to survive on for a whole month.

Ordinarily, the grants are paid to the elderly at Tinkhundla centres, a process that normally takes the entire day, if not two.
Interviewed yesterday, some of the elderly people said they were glad that they did not have to spend all day while waiting for their grants.
“The process took less than eight minutes as I only had to produce my identity card and the young lady looked up my name and in no time I was out of the post office,” said Gogo Kunene, who had just received her money at the Mbabane Post Office.

Kunene said she was pleased that she did not have to wait for her name to be called as was the situation when the grants were distributed at Tinkhundla centres, which was a process that took the whole day. “I think they call the names alphabetically and by the time your surname is called, it is very late,” she said.

The other elderly said they did not have to pay bus fare because some of the post offices were near therm.     
Interviewed yesterday, Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC) Corporate Communications Manager Nqobile Magagula said as a universal services provider, it remained the mandate of SwaziPost to bring universal services such as postal boxes, coin boxes and financial services closer to the people of the Kingdom of eSwatini.

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