Sassa withholds grants from thousands for not disclosing their income

The South African Social Services Agency (Sassa) claims that some grant recipients whose payments were withheld earlier this month, have received their grants.

210,000 beneficiaries did not receive their grant for June for failing to disclose their additional income according to the agency.

Speaking at Hemingways Hotel in East London on Thursday, CEO Themba Matlou said Sassa would continue with its stricter verification process to ensure only eligible grant recipients receive their grants.

“When you apply for a social grant you are informed that should your circumstances change you have to disclose that to Sassa; it is fraud not to do that. We want to ensure only qualifying recipients receive grants; we will continue doing monthly checks,” said Matlou.

‘The purpose is not to starve them;
it is a review’

Though he did not specify the numbers of beneficiaries whose grants had been withheld, he said some recipients were cleared after they had visited their branch for verification. “We don’t expect them to re-apply; if you qualify you will receive it but because we are working with the bank we were able to get notification that there’s additional income and at the moment we are targeting those people to come forward. The purpose is not to starve them; it is a review. When we issued the statement we said we are withholding not lapsing their grant. This is the only way we can get their attention,” he said.

Earlier this month, beneficiaries who did not receive their grants claimed to have not been informed of the reasons why. Matlou, however, maintained that the agency had sent communication to all those affected. “We have a challenge where the beneficiaries change contact information and don’t inform us, making it difficult to reach them. We have issued a statement, and we have notified them through SMS, wrote letters,” he said.

Matlou has urged grant recipients to utilise the toll-free number to contact Sassa. “They do not necessarily have to stand in queues – they can reach out to us in any way. We had a case where someone wrote a letter to inform us that they were employed and that we must cancel their grant, because the law requires them to disclose,” he said.

Though R370 social relief of distress (SRD) grant beneficiaries have complained for years about faulty verification systems, Sassa said there were plans in place to improve the efficiency of the system. “We are in communication with cell phone networks so that there is zero rating for our clients to make use of our system; this includes applying and updating information,” Matlou said.

Given a shortage of staff has led to long queues at Sassa offices, the CEO’s hope is that a queue monitoring device will shorten the waiting times.

He said his office was working hard to strengthen anti- fraud interventions and enhance system integrity. “After we were informed by the two students from Stellenbosch University about people accessing our system fraudulently, we are working with the Department of Social Development and we have appointed a team of auditors to make an assessment,” he said

In the Eastern Cape, Matlou said from 2018, Sassa lost R4.3-million through fraudulent grant payments; the new CEO said his priority was to strengthen security measures. “I want to put the system issues at front; people access our system fraudulently depriving those who are deserving and this also gets too much into our budget reduction.”

He said the Eastern Cape alone has found several cases of unethical conduct by Sassa officials, including unauthorised changes to payment method without the consent of the beneficiary, fraudulent processing of grants using falsified IDs, and illegal trading of child support grants. In Idutywa, Sassa officials were apprehended for processing fraudulent grants, and a total of 8,400 unaccounted files were uncovered, said Matlou. In Zwide, Gqeberha, officials were found to have processed 72 old-age grants and changed methods of payments to benefit themselves.

Sassa responds to flood emergency

Sassa has pledged maximum support to the families affected by the devastating floods that have wreaked havoc and claimed 88 lives in the province. “Sassa has developed a plan aimed at equipping beneficiaries with basic resources to support reintegration and restore stability. This package will include school uniforms for affected learners, promoting educational continuity, two-ply blankets, one mattress per individual and cash vouchers to address short-term financial needs,” said Matlou.