Paul Kirk Pension officials in KwaZulu- Natal are in hot water after an ageing pensioner was called a baboon while waiting in a pension queue and the official representative for Prince Gideon Zulu, Mike Gumede, claimed that pensioners enjoyed queuing in the hot sun as it gave them a chance to gossip with their friends. The pronouncement that pensioners enjoy queuing was made at a meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Welfare of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. Ironically, one of the main topics of discussion at the meeting was the terrible conditions that pensioners have to endure while waiting in queues to collect their pensions. The week before the meeting one elderly pensioner died in one of these queues and his body lay on the pavement for several hours before it was removed. These pension queues generally have no ablution facilities, no shade and no water. Gumede made the comment by pronouncing that the queues were not as bad as reported in some newspapers – especially the Mail & Guardian, which ran a lengthy feature on queues last week. He then went on to describe how pensioners regard pension days as a social outing and look forward to a long wait in line so they can gossip idly. Nobody challenged Gumede at the meeting, though Ashni Padarath of the Black Sash claimed she “simply could not believe what was being said. I was so shocked I honestly thought I was imagining what I heard. It was simply unbelievable. I was too dumbstruck to challenge him.” But the long queues were not the only issue raised at the meeting. The chair of the portfolio committee, Nhlanhla Ngubane, also demanded some answers on an incident that occurred in Pietermaritz-burg at a pension pay point run by Cash Paymaster Services (CPS). In the incident, which has ugly racial overtones, a white employee of CPS – the company that pays out pensions in the province – became enraged with a black old- age pensioner and screamed at him that he was a “fucking baboon”. The pronouncement came after the pensioner was unable to operate the “smart card” machine that is used to process pension pay- outs. The insult was allegedly made in full view of other pensioners and CPS staff. A complaint was made by the pensioner, but as yet no action has been taken. Di Dunkerley, the director of the Department of Welfare in Pietermaritzburg, told the committee that her department was still awaiting a response from CPS. Gumede could not be reached for comment before going to press.