Cape Town — The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) revealed that over 150 000 people did not receive their social grants last week due to fraudulent activity with their accounts.
The new figure is more than double the initial report of 70 000, which was reported on Tuesday. According to The Citizen, SASSA spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi blamed the latest payment glitch affecting the hard-hit grant recipients on “verification delays”.
“We are aware of non-payments, and this is a result of bank verifications, meaning that the details provided to us do not perfectly match or correspond to the ones registered in the bank. For example, you may find that a name has been misspelt or a letter is missing,” Letsatsi said.
According to earlier reports, SASSA revealed the issue was brought to their attention by the Auditor General that prompted an investigation into certain payments with apparent irregularities, SABC News reported.
“This matter was basically picked up by the Auditor General that there are some payments which are made to certain numbers which have got some suspicious elements. In this instance, you would find that there is an increase suddenly of people opening bank accounts, targeting one bank account. When we investigate, we find that the real beneficiary, when they come to withdraw the money month-end, there is no money because it has been taken by fraudsters,” Letsatsi said.
In response to the situation, the DA has called the ANC out for their failure to pay the grants, saying it is the primary source of income for many people.
“The DA has been inundated with concerns from beneficiaries that they might have to reapply and be without their funds for months. Their fears are further flamed and preyed upon by unfounded remarks that social grants will “likely disappear” should the ANC be voted out later this year,” The DA said.
More than 70 000 beneficiaries are still waiting to receive their January social grants from SASSA.
It’s clear that social grants are not immune to ANC corruption. The Human Rights Commission must urgently finalise its investigation as lodged by the DA. https://t.co/dNlvk6ho3Q
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) January 10, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
