Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Pretoria on Friday over fears that South Africa’s welfare agency may be unable to make benefit payments to millions of poor people.
The march was led by Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, and follows weeks of uncertainty over grants to more than 17 million people.
It is feared that payments will come to a halt after the government failed to announce a new company to process them when the current distributor’s contract ends on March 31.
Meanwhile , the government says it will pay out social grants to 17 million recipients despite confusion over payment system.
South Africa pays out around $10.7 billion a year in grants to vulnerable people including pensioners, unemployed mothers and the disabled.
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