Hawks Probe Massive R158m Grant Theft Scandal at Post Office and Postbank

A deepening crisis exposes long-standing failures in South Africa’s social grants payment system.

A Scandal Years in the Making

What was once dismissed as “administrative irregularities” has now exploded into a full-blown criminal investigation. The Hawks have confirmed they are probing three separate cases of theft amounting to R158 million linked to the SA Post Office (SAPO) and Postbank, the institutions responsible for paying social grants to millions of South Africans.

The investigation was triggered not by law enforcement, but by Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke, who lost confidence in how the entities handled the suspected fraud and referred the matter herself.

The cases were officially opened in 2023 at police stations in Garsfontein, Pretoria Central and Mangaung.

Inside Job: Grant Money Diverted Through Fake Payments

Two former employees SS Massoa and BL Mbatha have already been linked to fraudulent manual Sassa payment lists. Between 2020 and 2021, Massoa allegedly claimed to have paid out legitimate beneficiaries while diverting R2.24 million. Mbatha is accused of a similar scheme, costing SAPO over R1.6 million.

Both were arrested last year and will appear in court again this month.

But their individual cases are just the tip of the iceberg.

A System Built to Fail the Poor

The Auditor-General’s report paints a bleak picture:

• No proper controls over Sassa beneficiary payments

• Weak oversight of customer bank cards

• Cyberattacks that exposed serious vulnerabilities

• Losses in the tens of millions that couldn’t be fully quantified

Postbank alone wrote off R68.76 million in card-related fraud in 2018/19. Another R13.58 million in Sassa cards had to be written off due to a Reserve Bank directive.

In one glaring example, the integrated grants payment system (IGPS), the backbone of grant distribution was so poorly secured that hackers accessed it in October 2022, exploiting the same weak controls that whistleblowers had warned about for years.

Auditors estimate at least R89 million was lost in that breach alone, with the real amount likely much higher.

Accountability Ping-Pong

When the AG notified SAPO in 2020 about the material irregularities, its leadership passed the buck, claiming control of the IGPS system had already been handed to Postbank. That transfer took place as Postbank was being converted into a standalone entity.

The AG found this excuse inadequate pointing out that fraud indicators were obvious and ignored. The matter was then escalated under the Public Audit Act.

Meanwhile, SAPO has been placed under business rescue and Postbank is battling to regain public trust.

Public Reaction: “If This Happened at UIF or NSFAS, There Would Be Protests”

On social media, South Africans expressed shock but also grim familiarity.

Comments ranged from anger to exhaustion:

• “Every time there’s money meant for the poor, someone eats it.”

• “Where were the checks and balances all this time?”

• “Social grant fraud is worse than looting, people depend on this to eat.”

Some pointed out that while the accused employees were arrested, no senior managers or executives have yet been held liable.

A Bigger Conversation About Corruption and State Collapse

The Postbank scandal sits within a bigger pattern: UIF fraud, NSFAS glitches, ghost workers in municipalities, dodgy tenders at Eskom, and billions lost at Prasa.

The question South Africans are asking is simple: Who is watching the watchdogs?

The AG has promised to “follow up” in the next audit cycle, but many believe oversight without bulldog enforcement means very little.

The Hawks confirmed the case dockets are with prosecutors and active investigations are under way. However, no high-profile arrests beyond frontline employees have been made.

With Postbank set to take over all social grant payments from Sassa, the credibility of the institution is on the line.

For millions who queue monthly for their pensions, child support and disability grants, this is more than another corruption story, it’s about survival.

{Source: IOL}

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