By Marecia Damons.
About 20 000 social grant beneficiaries will not receive their payments this week. This is due to a new verification drive by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa). The agency says the delays mostly affect people who use forms of identification other than an ID, and form part of efforts to prevent fraud in the social security system.
The process affects all social grants.
Grants were scheduled to be paid from Tuesday (6 May), but affected beneficiaries will need to verify their identities before Sassa pays them.
“Once a beneficiary has been successfully verified, we do not anticipate it to take more than a week for them to receive their grant money,” said Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi.
He said Sassa had sent out SMS messages to notify affected people, using the contact numbers stored in its system. “Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that everyone will receive the message since some of our beneficiaries do not always come and update their numbers,” he said.
The beneficiaries impacted by the delay are those not using the standard 13-digit South African ID number.
Sassa’s check with the Department of Home Affairs revealed that many of these people had valid ID numbers. These beneficiaries will need to visit Sassa offices, where a review will be done and their correct ID numbers will be uploaded into the system, according to the statement.
Those who do not come forward may have their grants suspended. “If they don’t respond, more drastic actions such as lapsing of their grant will be applied, “the statement warned.
Sassa said the verification process aims to reduce errors and ensure that only eligible beneficiaries receive social assistance. The agency currently pays grants to about 28 million people every month.
Tackling fraud
A second group of beneficiaries flagged for verification this month includes those receiving income into bank accounts they did not tell Sassa about.
These people were identified through a means test designed to detect unreported income that could affect eligibility.
“In the 2025/2026 financial year, we will intensify our measures to ensure eligibility by regularly identifying clients on a monthly basis so that they come to our offices to verify their personal details,” said Letsatsi.
He added that attempts to improve security would also involve tackling possible wrongdoing by Sassa officials.
About 11 Sassa officials are currently facing over 1000 charges in court for alleged fraud worth more than R260 million.
“This process will also look inwardly and identify any possible collusion by Sassa officials, working in cahoots with the outside world to cheat the system and effectively steal grant money meant for the poor,” Letsatsi said.
When asked whether Sassa conducted lifestyle audits on its employees, Letsatsi responded: “Not regularly, but this is something that the organisation is working to improve on.”
Sassa said the new measures are part of a broader strategy to improve record-keeping, prevent fraud, and ensure that grants reach those who need them most.
© 2025 GroundUp. This article was first published here.