In an increasingly connected world, where government services are increasingly accessible online, it is not surprising to see cases of fraud occurring. Unfortunately, some recipients of the R350 Social Relief Grant (SRD) in South Africa have experienced this.
One such beneficiary is Bonginkosi Nxumalo, an unemployed teacher from Daveyton in Benoni. Since the introduction of the SRD in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, he regularly received the R350 grant each month. However, in January 2023, he received a text message from the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) telling him that his mobile phone number had been changed. After receiving this message, he no longer received monthly subsidy payments.
Nxumalo repeatedly attempted to report the fraud to Sassa via email, but each time he was told his case was under review. A year later, he still hasn’t received help. Unfortunately, his case is not isolated, many other beneficiaries have also reported similar fraud to the GroundUp editorial staff.
Elizabeth Raiters, head of social grants helpdesk at #PayTheGrants, says she has received hundreds of similar complaints from people across the country. Faced with these reports of unauthorized telephone number changes, Sassa responded by prohibiting beneficiaries from changing their number online. They must now contact the Sassa helpline. An authentication code is then sent to the phone number currently registered in Sassa’s system to authorize the change. Unfortunately, this procedure is futile for beneficiaries like Nxumalo, whose phone number has been taken over by potential fraudsters.
In addition to unauthorized phone number changes, #PayTheGrants also found that new applicants for the R350 SRD grant who turned 18 in 2023 found their ID number was already in use, preventing them from to access the grant.
According to Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi, the agency’s enforcement unit is experiencing capacity constraints and a high volume of cases regarding the R350 SRD grant. The number of SRD grant beneficiaries varies between 7.5 million and 8.5 million, as beneficiaries are subject to monthly means tests.
Letsatsi said the SRD grant is “the fastest growing grant in the history of social assistance in the country”, posing a huge burden on Sassa in terms of administration and fraud prevention . To address this, Sassa is currently developing facial recognition software to strengthen the beneficiary identity verification process.. This software is expected to be implemented by the 2024/2025 financial year.
Although Sassa did not respond to questions regarding Nxumalo’s individual fraud case, the agency said its fraud division prioritizes fraud cases committed by government employees.
Fraud can cause enormous hardship for already vulnerable people who rely on these grants to survive. It is essential that Sassa takes rapid and effective action to combat these frauds and protect SRD beneficiaries. In the meantime, it is important that beneficiaries remain vigilant, protect their personal information and report any suspicious activity to Sassa.
With the digitalization of government services booming, it is imperative to put robust security measures in place to ensure that society’s most vulnerable are not exploited by unscrupulous fraudsters. It is time for authorities to take strong action to combat these crimes and preserve the integrity of social assistance programs.