ROBBING GOOD PENSIONERS
I can consider myself fortunate to receive 2 pensions every month. The current state pension is about R1260/month while the R60 will be added on in March 2013.
I recently received a municipal account for R1294 which is about double my usual bill. A query gave birth to an unintelligible murmur and end of story. Something was muttered about the rise in ESCOM tariffs. 25 % of the time I am away from home and hence the water and light accounts should reflect the differences.
Nothing doing. I am sure that a state pensioner will be unable to foot a bill like this and end up being penalised for being elderly. In many cases some companies do give elderly people some or other rebate but usually, while it is much appreciated, it never amounts to much. When buying my bus ticket to Cape Town the bus company gave me a rebate/ discount on my ticket amounting to about R35.
When we browse through the shops inspecting the prices and quality it is worthwhile remembering that most pensioners cannot afford the niceties on the racks. And when making a selection which to them, may be a bonanza, may just be inferior for us. Many pensioners own motor vehicles and a round trip of say 800km is a major, if not impossible expense for them while You and I would not bat an eyelid. A trip by air from say Cape Town to Johannesburg would be almost impossible for most state pensioners. Sadly, pensioners are often herded up to keep an eye on Junior.
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