Sassa to sack and pursue officials who bypass biometric grant checks

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has warned that officials who bypass its biometric verification system to process and approve social grant applications will be charged, dismissed and held financially accountable.

Crackdown on internal corruption

Sassa CEO Themba Matlou said the agency has intensified efforts to eliminate fraud and corruption within its grant administration system to ensure “the right social grant is paid to the right and deserving person.”

Matlou said:

“All officials found to have bypassed the Sassa biometric system to process and approve applications will be charged and dismissed from the agency.”

Financial recovery and legal action

According to Matlou, Sassa will seek to recover financial losses from implicated officials. The agency said it would apply for preservation orders on the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) benefits of the capturer, the verifier and the approver of fraudulent grant applications through the high courts to recoup losses.

Biometric enrolment central to prevention

Matlou described the Beneficiary Biometric Enrollment as a measure introduced to tackle identity theft and ensure social grants reach deserving beneficiaries. He said Sassa has continued reviewing beneficiaries to identify people receiving grants unlawfully, while also focusing on corruption from within the agency.

Disciplinary record and renewed push

Matlou said that in the last financial years Sassa dismissed about 43 officials for transgressions that included bypassing processes to enable corruption. He said the agency would “fight tooth and nail” to clean up the social grant system and preserve government resources.

As Sassa marks its 20th anniversary since its establishment in 2006, Matlou vowed that anti-corruption efforts would be intensified during the current financial year.