Alternative SASSA system to be introduced, minister tells MPs

SASSA

A week after two students uncovered a grant system vulnerable to fraud at the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe told Parliament her department has decided to introduce ‘alternative’ payments.

According to EWN, grant beneficiaries would be issued dedicated  bank cards.

Joel Cedras and Veer Gosai, two first-year computer science students at Stellenbosch University, writing for GroundUp, recounted how they had uncovered fraud in SASSA’s Social Relief of Distress grant (SDG) system.

‘We […] uncovered that SASSA has paid grants out on a number of occasions to applicants that used our ID numbers, even though we have never received the SRD grant. This suggests that not only are fraudulent applications being made; it is likely many of them are succeeding. Not only are ineligible people receiving the grant, but there are likely people who are eligible who are losing out because a fraudster is getting what should be their grant,’ the students wrote.

Tolashe told Parliament SASSA is fighting back against the fraud and has made significant investments in advanced technologies.

‘SASSA does take these considerations that are very abnormal, very seriously, hence it has taken a decision to have alternative payments of grants. Let us recognise and accept the decision to switch to banking cards for our beneficiaries,’ she said.

Meanwhile the parliamentary portfolio committee has given the minister 30 days to investigate the weaknesses in the SRD grant system, after which she  must report back to the committee.

The committee was briefed by the two students on Wednesday.

‘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,’ the committee said.

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