The Portfolio Committee on Social Development has given the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) 30 days to conduct an investigation into the weaknesses identified in their Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant application and payment system.
Joel Cedras and Veer Gosai, the two first-year Stellenbosch University students, briefed the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on their findings of fraud within the SRD grant system.
Due to the seriousness of the students’ findings, the committee resolved to give the department and Sassa 30 days to conduct a full investigation into the matter and to thereafter present a detailed report to the committee, as per the request of the Minister.
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 students emphasised that they had conducted the survey and published their findings out of concern that the fraud in the system robbed the poor and vulnerable, particularly the youth, out of the social protection they need.
Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe and members of the Portfolio Committee commended Cedras and Gosai for their courage in revealing their findings.
Committee members noted that they had previously raised similar concerns with Sassa and the Department of Social Development multiple times over the years. Despite warnings from other members of the public, Sassa had yet to take action on these issues, which committee members acknowledged were preventing eligible people from accessing grants.
Other members of the public had also alerted SASSA to this challenge, but no action was taken. These weaknesses in the system exclude deserving people from applying for the grant, committee members acknowledged.
The committee also welcomed Minister Tolashe's commitment to the investigation and recommended that Sassa conduct vulnerability assessments and tests on the SRD grant system to address any existing flaws.
Sassa’s Biometric Verification Solution
Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi said the agency's leadership has resolved to roll out a nationwide system of biometric security to address fraud. The system was trialled in the Eastern Cape.
We have agreed that we need to roll out the biometric system all over the country because it was only done in the Eastern Cape. We were just trying to see how quick the system is to check that people who are trying to penetrate the system are indeed people who are trying to get the R370 [grant].
Sassa has received criticism regarding biometric checks, with some civil groups warning that the agency’s policies are exclusionary. The introduction of the facial recognition verification check also sparked concern.
Lesatsi previously explained the rollout of facial recognition checks when beneficiaries wanted to update contact information was to prevent fraud.
Criminals could potentially misuse the personal information of grant beneficiaries. By changing the beneficiary’s registered cellphone number, criminals might be able to redirect the grant payments to their accounts, effectively stealing the funds intended for the legitimate beneficiary.
Basic Income researcher at the Institute for Economic Justice, Siyanda Baduza, says while enhanced security measures are needed, 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 that only allows individuals with smart IDs 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.
