'You can't cheat the system' - SASSA halts payments after application dishonesty

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has stopped some 70,000 social grants after reviewing around 240,000 beneficiaries as part of a nationwide compliance drive.

The agency says the process is necessary to protect public funds and maintain the integrity of the grant system.

At the heart of it is misinformation provided by applicants, says SASSA Head of Communications Paseka Letsatsi.

"When you come to a SASSA office to make an application, you need to be honest with us."

That has not been the case with several applications, he adds, explaining that in some cases, applicants are being less than truthful about their financial situation.

"When we check with the credit bureaus, we find that individuals have gone to the lenders, they have got money, and they have submitted documentation that they would be able to pay the money," says Letsatsi.

The current compliance drive includes cross-checking other government databases and biometric verification to confirm beneficiaries are eligible.

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Some applicants try to 'hide' their true financial position, says Letsatsi, but SASSA can, through an applicant's national identification number, look at the number of bank accounts held by an individual.

"We've picked up that a lot of people have multiple bank accounts, wherein in a bank account you didn't give us, there is money flowing in."

You can't cheat the system, says Letsasi.

SASSA plans to conduct 420,000 beneficiary reviews in the current financial year, as part of efforts to clamp down on ineligible grant payments.

For more details, listen to Letsatsi using the audio player below: