Home Affairs complicit in R140-million SASSA blunder, says agency

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In a shocking revelation, the South African Social Security Agency has pointed the finger at Home Affairs over a SASSA blunder that cost over R140 million. Apparently, a delay in delivery of official death registrations from the DHA has resulted in 75 000 social grant payments to ‘deceased beneficiaries’ in a year, reports GroundUp.

Last week, the SASSA blunder came to light during a 2023/24 audit action plan presented to the Parliamentary portfolio committee on social development. At the time of the SASSA blunder, now suspended CEO Busisiwe Mamela was still in charge. She has since been suspended (with pay) pending an investigation into irregularities. However, current SASSA CFO Tsakeriwa Chauke was forced to explain the multi-million-Rand SASSA blunder.

R140-MILLION SASSA BLUNDER

Despite worrying loses, the bad days of miss-appropriation in 2018 appear to be improving. Image: File

She says the issue stems from the timing of payment processing. At the end of each month, SASSA, through the Social Pension (SOCPEN) database, prepares payment files. However, should beneficiaries pass away between the payment file being generated and the payment being made, they will still be included in that payment run.

What is hard to believe is this occurred more than 75 000 times, costing the taxpayer R140 million over the year. In 2022, Stats SA reported 630 667 deaths in South Africa. That’s 52 555 per month. 45% of all residents receive some form of social support, from SRD to a ‘core’ SASSA grant. But even this only amounts to 25 277 SASSA recipients dying monthly, two-thirds less.

NEW IT SYSTEM TO BE IMPLEMENTED

Fraudulent payments to SASSA staff impersonating beneficiaries did decline in 2023/24. Image: File

Nevertheless, Chauke says the agency is working on a new system, set to be tested in April, which could help resolve such a SASSA blunder. It will allow bulk recalls of payments to beneficiaries found to have died based on Department of Home Affairs (DHA) records. While SASSA is fully synchronised with the DHA, a weakness in the system is that citizens don’t always report a beneficiary’s death. Only after three months of non-collection will a SASSA grant be stopped.

Nevertheless, in its audit report, the agency said irregular expenditure has declined overall. Back in 2018/19, misappropriation peaked at an unbelievable R1.8 billion. In 2023/24, this figure was just R34.2 million. Chauke attributed the decrease to improved oversight and supply chain management training. For reference, the Auditor-General (AG) also identified the following material irregularities in SASSA’s financial statements:

R74 million paid to Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) in 2018 for services not rendered.
R316 million overpaid to CPS, which the High Court in Pretoria ruled must be paid back to SASSA.
R150 million in SRD grants paid to ineligible/fraudulent applicants.
R7.8 million paid to a company for photocopy machines in the Eastern Cape.
R1.7 million fraudulent grant payments made to SASSA officials.

SASSA GRANTS STILL VULNERABLE

The worst SASSA miss-appropriation took place under the leadership of former Minister Lindiwe Zulu and suspended CEO Busisiwe Mamela Image: File

Nevertheless, acting CEO Temba Matlou says there are plans to implement biometric verification for all SRD grant beneficiaries in the new financial year to combat fraud within the system. Matlou explained that they are reconfiguring the system’s rate-limiting capabilities, which would limit the number of times the system can be queried.

Moreover, long queues and staff shortages at SASSA offices continue to be a major concern. SASSA is in the process of hiring more staff. “We know some people visit local offices despite online applications being available. So, we’re bringing in more capacity to reduce long queues,” said Matlou. However, SASSA does actively encourage beneficiaries to use the online application system (when it’s not offline) to streamline the process.