"Give Them their Dignity": SA Woman Compares Pensioner Grant to R5.1bn Spent on Foreign Prisoners
- Johannesburg speaker Geraldine Prinsloo Doyle went viral after comparing what SA spends on foreign national prisoners to the R2,400 monthly pension grant
- Her video surfaced just before nationwide SASSA pickets organised by Pensioners of South Africa on 7 September 2026
- Geraldine challenged the government to account for billions lost to corruption, wasteful expenditure and failed entities
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Source: UGC
A Johannesburg transformational speaker lit up social media after posting a direct-to-camera video that put two government figures side by side. Geraldine Prinsloo Doyle shared the clip on 5 September 2026, and the numbers she laid out stopped people in their tracks.
Geraldine pointed out that South Africa currently houses 30,289 foreign national prisoners, each costing R13,890 per month to feed, secure and maintain. That adds up to R5.1 billion a year. She then held that figure against the R2,400 monthly SASSA Older Persons Grant that pensioners receive — people who, in her words, worked, paid taxes and built this country for over 40 years.
"Make the math math for me," she said. "A government can be so short-sighted and rob our elderly of their dignity."
Pensioners Demand More From SASSA
Her video arrived at a charged moment. Pensioners across South Africa were preparing to take to the streets outside SASSA offices on 7 September 2026, with civil society group Pensioners of South Africa (POSA) organising nationwide pickets between 12:00 and 14:00. Their demand: raise the grant from R2,400 to R5,000 per month.
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The grievances run deep. Many elderly South Africans support entire households on a single grant because of high youth unemployment.
Deputy Minister Ganief Hendricks acknowledged the hardship but warned that raising the grant to R5,000 would cost the state an additional R240 billion annually.
Geraldine did not stop at the prison comparison. She went on to cite corruption costs, failed procurement and wasteful expenditure running into tens of billions, asking why dignity remains the one thing the country apparently cannot afford.
South Africans React to Geraldine's Video
Viewers flooded the comments on the Facebook page with their own frustrations:
@Debs Katts wrote:
"Very well said, my child, then we must still decide on keeping the lights on for the month or buying food."
@Glynis Knight said:
"So true, and the corruption lives on, and we, the elders, have to beg to be able to buy just a chocolate!"
@Beatrice O'Leary added:
"Thank you for standing up for the old age pensioners."
@Thea Vanloggerenberg shared:
"Thank you very much that you speak up for our pensioners; may God be with you always."
Watch Geraldine's full video that sparked the debate here.
More on SASSA and pensioners
- Briefly News recently reported on a pensioner whose personal budget revealed just how far short the SASSA old-age grant falls when rent alone is factored in.
- In another story, several major retailers offer dedicated discounts that could help stretch a pensioner's budget a little further each month.
- Briefly News also reported on nationwide pickets planned outside SASSA offices, with pensioners demanding their monthly grant be more than doubled.
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Source: Briefly News
