The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has announced plans to cancel fraudulent Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant applications, a decision that could affect thousands of current beneficiaries.
The SRD grant serves as the sole financial support for unemployed adults living in South Africa. According to Sassa, approximately 8 million individuals in the country currently rely on monthly SRD grant payments.
However, Sassa’s efforts to eliminate fraudulent grants have raised concerns that some deserving applicants could be unfairly impacted.
Sassa implemented this activity to ensure that the Agency pays social grants to the right people and avoid fraud.
The agency has assured all affected beneficiaries that they will be eligible to reapply for the SRD grant should their payments be cancelled. Reapplications will be subject to Sassa’s verification processes, including biometric identification checks.
Sassa introduced its biometric verification system in 2024 following the detection of significant fraud in the SRD grant payment process.
Two first-year students uncovered that fraudsters had been exploiting unsuspecting citizens' identity numbers to apply for the grant and divert funds into bank accounts using those same ID numbers. This fraud may have prevented legitimate applicants from accessing government relief.
In response to these challenges, Sassa has urged beneficiaries to safeguard their personal information and avoid sharing sensitive details with strangers to prevent “becoming aiding fraudsters.”
Sassa has well-trained officials who are assigned to deal with Covid-19 SRD grant cases. If the beneficiary or applicant is suspecting fraudulent activity, he or she must not hesitate to contact Sassa toll-free line or WhatsApp.
Grant recipients whose SRD status is marked as “referred” are being instructed to contact Sassa immediately.
When beneficiaries check their status and find it states ‘referred,’ it means the Sassa system is suspecting fraudulent activity. Therefore, the beneficiary must contact Sassa immediately to resolve the case.
Sassa has also warned beneficiaries against frequently changing their banking details or contact numbers, as such actions can lead to delays in grant payments.
