SASSA confident it's on top of grant fraud

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) appears confident it’s getting on top of grant fraud after a beneficiary verification process that recently caused upheaval in offices across the country.

SASSA initiated a review of its cyber and enrollment systems after two Stellenbosch students last year exposed how the system was being manipulated for the R370 social relief of distress (SRD) grant first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency has identified a host of shortcomings in its SRD application system, most of which it says it’s now been able to fix.

SASSA approves around eight million SRD grants every month.

It’s acknowledged that its systems have been weak, including that its website could be easily infiltrated, and beneficiary data could be accessed by outside parties.

SASSA’s acting chief information officer, Jabulani Makhondo, said that at least 150 websites mimickingSASSA’s official website had been identified, with around 70 of them being shut down.

"Bringing down these websites sometimes is a challenge because you can only shut down that particular website if it is live and it’s up at that particular time."

SASSA is also reviewing its decision to allow up to ten applicants to use the same phone number to apply for the SRD grant at the height of the pandemic when accessibility was difficult.

"This actually is a risk, not necessarily a vulnerability, to say if you got this it could expose you to other types of fraud."

Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe has welcomed the extension of the SRD grant to March 2027 as announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana last week, saying it allows for more time to refine proposals for a more permanent basic income grant.