Last week, news broke that two first-year Stellenbosch University students, Joel Cedras and Veer Gosai, uncovered fraud in the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant system.
The students found that fraudsters were using unsuspecting citizens' identity numbers to apply for the SRD Grant and receiving the funds in bank accounts using the same ID numbers. This potentially eliminated deserving people from accessing government relief.
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) is aware of fraud but argued that the students' published findings do not consider the efforts of the grant payment agency.
Sassa’s Brenton Van Vrede said a lot of work has been done by the agency with the introduction of additional verification checks to ensure the right grant is paid to the right person.
We do believe the control measures that we've put in place are quite stringent.
This work includes introducing algorithms to detect suspicious applications and enhanced identity verification processes, including facial recognition and one-time password (OTP) checks.
Van Vrede says there are approximately 2 million SRD grant applications that have been flagged for suspected fraud. Grant applicants would receive a Referred SRD grant status if they must do further verification.
Stakeholders Say Those In Need Are Disadvantaged
While enhanced security measures are needed, Basic Income researcher at the Institute for Economic Justice Siyanda Baduza says they often disadvantage and place an undue burden on those who are in desperate need of relief.
The biometric verification system... ends up blocking out a lot of people who are actually deserving.
Sassa is also moving to a policy which only allows individuals with smart ID’s to apply for the SRD grant. Applications for the SRD grant also cannot be made in person at Sassa Offices like other grants and can only be made online.
According to Baduza, this move toward full digitisation has had the unintended consequence of excluding the most vulnerable individuals.
This lack of flexibility is leaving the poorest of the poor excluded.
Baduza believes that part of the problem lies in the absence human oversight in the grant application process. They argue that some level of human intervention is essential to prevent large-scale fraud and ensure fair access for those in need.
Without human oversight, fraud on this scale becomes possible.
Baduza acknowledges the need to combat fraud in the SRD grant system but stresses that this should not come at the expense of excluding deserving beneficiaries.
We must close the gaps in the system to prevent fraud, but this must be done in a way that ensures people who are entitled to aid can access it
How Sassa Verifies SRD Grant Applications
To qualify for the SRD grant in South Africa, applicants must meet the eligibility criteria.
They need to be South African citizens, residents, or special permit holders, but they shouldn't be receiving other government support in the form of UIF benefits or NSFAS bursaries. Their bank account should have less than R624 to be eligible for the SRD grant.
Sassa conducts verification checks in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs for identity and citizenship checks and shares bank details with the Department of Treasury for income verification. Once satisfied with eligibility, Sassa proceeds with payments, and this verification process accounts for the end-of-month payment schedule.
The students’ findings indicate that these verification checks are being circumvented by criminals.
