OVER E600 PER MONTH FOR ELDERLY?

LOBAMBA – It has been confirmed, the elderly could be in for some great news as Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg has stated that they could earn over E600 per month each. 

However, the minister was quick to point out that this money had not been budgeted for. 
Rijkenberg said the E400 was too low, which was why the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was in the process of establishing a proper database on who deserved the elderly grants and who did not. 

The minister made these submissions yesterday when he made his replies on the Budget Speech debate which was held on Monday in Parliament. 

Qualify

Rijkenberg said among those who would not qualify for the government grant, were those who had high paying pensions, including those who crossed the border into South Africa to also claim the grants there. 

He said the DPMs Office was also going to swift through those who were undeservedly receiving the grants, especially through illegal means. 
He said after the full review, the DPM’s office would also revisit the payment method to the elderly and admitted that so far, mobile money payments would seemingly be the way to go as it was so far the most cost-effective way. 

Rijkenberg said they were paying Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC) more than E3 million per month, for making the payments to the elderly and they were looking at finding more cost-effective measures. 
He said they had hoped to complete this process by July 2019, and from these savings it was possible that the elderly could earn more than E600 per month.

 
Optimistic

The minister, who sounded very optimistic, said there were logistics which, however, needed to be made as some of the elderly were not owners of cellphones or smartphones. 

Rijkenberg was responding particularly to questions that had been raised by Kubuta MP Mlamuli Mabuza, who argued that EPTC charged about E30-E40 per elderly person to make payment of the grants, yet the two mobile companies in the country could perhaps charge E10 to E15, which would amount to E1. 5 million instead of the E3 million reportedly paid to EPTC. 

MP Mabuza further submitted that the mobile companies could even donate the E150 cellphones to the elderly to carry out the transactions. 

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