SASSA CEO tells beneficiaries ‘do not panic’ as grant reviews continue

Johannesburg, 12 August 2026 South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Chief Executive Officer Themba Matlou has urged beneficiaries not to panic after some were selected for social grant reviews, saying the checks are routine and do not automatically mean grants have been cancelled.

What SASSA says about the review process

Matlou described the exercise as an administrative verification to confirm whether recipients still meet the requirements for social assistance. He said being selected for a review does not automatically mean that you have lost your grant.

“Being selected for a review does not automatically mean that you have lost your grant. A review is an important process through which SASSA verifies whether a beneficiary continues to meet the requirements for receiving social assistance,”

Agency priorities and response

Matlou said SASSA remains committed to ensuring that qualifying recipients continue to receive the assistance they are entitled to while strengthening the integrity of the social grant system. He also pointed to efforts to modernise operations and expand digital services as part of improving service delivery.

“We are working to modernise SASSA, improve our systems, expand digital services and make our offices more efficient. As the CEO, this is one of my key priorities,” Matlou said.

Dignity and public scrutiny

The CEO emphasised that SASSA’s mandate goes beyond payment and includes delivering services with fairness and respect. He said dignity is central to the agency’s work and asked beneficiaries to cooperate with the agency’s efforts to improve the social assistance system.

“Our responsibility is not only to administer grants, but to do so with integrity, compassion, efficiency and respect,”

“Do not panic, serving you with dignity is our first priority,”

Context in the public domain

The intervention from Matlou comes as SASSA faces increased public scrutiny over grant administration and moves to strengthen compliance measures within the social assistance programme.

Matlou concluded by calling on beneficiaries to work with the agency: “Together, we can build a social assistance system that is more responsive, reliable and worthy of the people it serves.”