The Department of Social Development (DSD) faced criticism during a recent audit by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA). The audit highlighted several issues within the department, including challenges with the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant and irregular expenditure.
Grants distributed by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) support millions of financially vulnerable South Africans. Permanent grants distributed by the agency include the Older Persons pension grant, Disability grant, War Veterans grant, Care Dependency grant, Foster Child grant, Child Support grant, Child Support grant Top-Up and Grant-in-aid.
The SRD grant is a lifeline for millions of unemployed South Africans. However, the audit revealed that the DSD has struggled to meet its target of reaching 19.4 million beneficiaries by the end of the 2023-24 financial year, falling short by over a million recipients.
This shortfall is primarily due to underspending on the SRD grant.
The department has faced criticism for its implementation of the SRD grant, including the introduction of a lower income threshold and the requirement for bank verification. These changes have resulted in fewer people applying for and receiving the grant.
In addition to the challenges with the SRD grant, the audit also uncovered significant irregular expenditure at the Sassa. Despite efforts to resolve these issues, amounts totaling R281 million and R12 million remain outstanding.
A significant portion of this expenditure was not dealt with, including two large cases involving R281 million and R12 million.
The DSD has also failed to meet key targets, such as the timely adjudication of grant appeals and the implementation of a substance use disorder policy.
Other key targets, such as the timely adjudication of appeals and the implementation of a substance use disorder policy, were also not achieved.
These shortcomings have further impacted the department's ability to effectively deliver social services to South Africans in need.
