The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has uncovered widespread corruption in its Eastern Cape offices involving thousands of missing files, fictitious children and fake pensioners, resulting in a loss of R4.3m.
Officials have also received death threats, including bullets sent in envelopes.
Sassa chief executive Themba Matlou said the situation had exposed serious breaches in payment systems at several offices in the province.
He alleged the criminal syndicates included former officials who had infiltrated internal systems from within.
Matlou was speaking at a media engagement session in East London on Thursday.
He spoke at length about the challenges and outlined plans to address them through biometric measures.
“For the Eastern Cape alone, recently, Sassa has identified several fraudulent activities that were reported by whistle-blowers, concerned citizens, and those picked up by our intervention and systems,” he said.
“This relates to unauthorised changes to payment methods without beneficiary consent, fraudulent processing of old age grants using falsified IDs, illegal trading of children’s support grants — commonly called child bartering.”
Matlou said social development minister Sisisi Tolashe had directed Sassa to take decisive action and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to corruption.
“We recently apprehended some of the people and some officials in Dutywa who were [allegedly] found processing fraudulent grants.
“We found 8,400 unaccounted files in that specific office. Investigations are ongoing.”
Other activities involved 72 fraud cases, including old age grants and fraudulent changes to payment methods, all allegedly processed at the Zwide office.
Matlou alleged that 46 fraudulent grants had been processed at the Amathole office.
In Libode, 23 beneficiaries had been identified as collecting grants on behalf of fictitious children.
“These are ghost children that are sets of twins,” he said.
He said the illicit activities had cost Sassa R4.3m.
“We’ve already started investigations, and we’re confident that through the collaboration with law enforcement, recovery of some of this money will happen.”
Sassa regional executive manager Bandile Maqetuka said there was a growing trend of identity theft in SA.
“We have noted that old age grant recipients, when they come to apply at our offices, are told that they are already getting a grant in another province,” Maqetuka said.
“That confirms there is a syndicate that is stealing the identities of people.
“We’re working with home affairs.”
He said the two departments had signed a memorandum of understanding.
“We are putting in place control measures.
“We know there will be a bit of inconvenience to citizens but we are dealing with public funds.
“We are expected to account for each cent entrusted to us.”
Maqetuka said Sassa officials were also under pressure from criminal syndicates to look the other way.
“I told the CEO about a case in Zwide, where two officials, while working in the office, someone came, gave them envelopes,” Maqetuka said.
“There were bullets inside those envelopes for our employees.
“It means we are under siege by syndicates, hence we’re working in collaboration with security agencies.
“We’re working with various stakeholders to prevent this fraud and corruption from happening. Our staff are being targeted.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that our staff members are protected at all times because syndicates are targeting them, our colleagues.
“It is painful to see our people agreeing to work with criminal syndicates.”
As part of its efforts to strengthen the system, Sassa has implemented a grant review process requiring beneficiaries to report to their nearest office within 30 days of receiving notice.
According to the Social Assistance Act and its regulations, applicants are legally obligated to declare all sources of income when applying and to inform Sassa of any changes in their financial situation.
Matlou said to ensure they were paying the right grant to the right person, they had put in place measures to deal with undeserving grant beneficiaries through a process of reviewing grants in line with the Social Assistance Act.
“We are also implementing a mandatory biometric verification process so that we can strengthen and make sure that there is live certification of any beneficiary that goes through our system.”
Matlou said Sassa was targeted by people they suspected of having alternative sources of income that was not disclosed.
“The law requires that you disclose when you get employment.”
Already, 210,000 grants had been put on hold.
“We’ve not cancelled the grants but people must come forward by the cut-off date. If not, then they will be cancelled permanently.”
The Herald
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