The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has been instructed by Parliament to restore the Electronic Know Your Client (eKYC) system. The system will allow Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant beneficiaries to verify their identity and gain access to invaluable SRD grant payments.
Sassa recently informed SRD grant recipients that their grant payments will be suspended due to suspected fraud.
This development required SRD grant beneficiaries to re-apply and verify their identity using the eKYC system. However, SRD grant beneficiaries cannot verify their identities after Sassa suspended the eKYC system.
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development Bridget Masango called on Sassa to restore the eKYC system.
Masango acknowledged Sassa’s efforts to curb fraud, they warned the grant agency payment that thousands of people would be unable to receive critical relief should the eKYC system not be restored.
We appreciate the effort to combat fraud, but we strongly express concern about the suspended eKYC verification system that leaves thousands of eligible people unable to prove their eligibility.
An estimated 100.550 SRD grant payments in the Eastern Cape have been suspended by Sassa as part of its ongoing investigation into the weaknesses in the SRD grant payment system.
It is unclear what the percentage of those committing fraud is because the verification system is offline.
The Minister must intervene and ensure that the verification system is brought back online to enable the deserving beneficiaries to receive their grants.
While the committee is aware of the ongoing investigation into the weaknesses of the SRD grant payment system, it reiterates that deserving beneficiaries should not be negatively affected by the processes Sassa is undertaking as part of the investigation.
