Bathandwa takes a deep breath when she gets to the front of the queue in the EasyLoan office.

“Hello, sister, ngingakusiza ngani? Are you perhaps interested in a loan?” says the girl opposite her, smiling.

“No. In fact I want to get three months of statements on this card,” Bathandwa says and produces her grandmother’s card.

“Is it your card?”

“No, it’s my grandmother’s card.”

“All right. Please take a seat while I get you the person who will help you,” says the girl.

An hour passes before the manager is free to see Bathandwa.

“Please take a seat, Miss. How can I help you?” says a slightly overweight, middle-aged man behind the desk.

“Hi, I have a problem here. My grandmother’s card has no money, her SASSA card also has no money but her grant was paid yesterday morning. I need her statements to see what is going on,” says Bathandwa. “She says she has paid off her loan. She has been paying for months now.”

“Miss, we don’t have the equipment or the powers to give out statements. You will have to call the number at the back of the card to get that information. Our customer care line.”

Bathandwa’s eyes flame with rage.

“So a person can agree to get this card here, get a loan here but not statements? Does it make sense to you?!” screams Bathandwa.

“Miss, it is the way…”

“Save it for someone who will believe whatever rubbish you are about to tell me.” Bathandwa collects her bag and stands up to leave. “How are people supposed to call this number when they have to wait hours for someone to answer? Who has that kind of airtime to waste?”

“Miss, wait a minute,” says the manager, sincerity dripping off his chubby face. “Can I interest you in a loan to pay for your grandmother’s loans? It is very easy. You just fill this for–”

“Unbelievable!” Bathandwa gets up, bangs the door and leaves.

Walking out of the EasyLoans office she sees several old people sitting in a queue. They are filling in forms, opening accounts. She wishes they knew what they were getting into. Wishes this system was not targeting the most vulnerable.

She sees herself in the girl who is the communication liaison in this office. The expression of joy, as the girl signs up the elderly for accounts, is the same expression Bathandwa had on her face just a day ago, when she did the same in Grahamstown.

She watches more old people coming into the EasyLoans office, and more still coming up the stairs as she leaves the building. She wonders what the solution to this poverty could be. She knows that, like her grandmother, they are desperate for money. Her heart bleeds.

***

Tell us what you think: Is Bathandwa right to be angry that you can only get statements via the care line, not in an EasyLoan office?