Sassa faces scrutiny in high court over grant verification delays

22 Oct 2024

The South African Social Security Agency blames the Home Affairs online system.

New applicants and existing beneficiaries of the R370-a-month Social Relief of Distress grant have been battling to access their money for months due to issues with the South African Social Security Agency’s (Sassa’s) verification procedure.

At the end of this month advocacy groups will challenge the rules around the R370 grant in the Pretoria Division of the High Court.

The Social Relief of Distress system has been riddled with issues. Also, two first-year Stellenbosch University students discovered that their ID numbers had been used fraudulently to apply for the Social Relief of Distress grants. They first revealed this to the HeartFM radio news team earlier this month.

Read more in GroundUp: We discovered massive fraud in SASSA's grant system

Since earlier this year, beneficiaries wanting to change their mobile numbers must undergo a biometric ID verification. This also applies to beneficiaries suspected of committing fraud or of being the victim of identity theft. They are notified through their online profiles. The notification informs them that once beneficiaries select the “request identity verification” option, Sassa will send instructions on how to proceed.

Often these requests are done within 24 hours but “may take up to two days for the message to be sent”. On receiving the SMS, beneficiaries have three days to complete the verification process; this includes taking a clear photo of their face.

When beneficiaries have a smart card ID, the likelihood of the verification being successful is much higher than when they only have a green ID book.

Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi said: “When beneficiaries have a smart card ID, the likelihood of the verification being successful is much higher than when they only have a green ID book.” This is because of the poor quality of photos in the green ID books kept on the Department of Home Affairs’ databases.

However, many beneficiaries with smart card IDs still aren’t receiving the verification link, and there has been no explanation as to why this is happening.

Since applying for the grant on 28 June, 18-year-old Nyakello Mahlaba from Vanderbijlpark in Gauteng has yet to receive his verification link.

“I kept requesting the SMS with the verification link,” he said. When he didn’t receive the link for several weeks, he thought the issue was with his SIM card. “I did a SIM swap and requested the link again, but that’s when I realised the problem wasn’t my SIM card,” said Mahlaba.

Frustrated, he visited Sassa’s website and social media pages for answers and “saw other people complaining about the same issue”.

Weeks later Mahlaba phoned Sassa’s toll-free hotline.

“They told me their system had been struggling and that they were working on fixing it. But it doesn’t seem like it’s been resolved yet.”

As a part-time business management student at the University of Johannesburg, Mahlaba applied for the R370 grant to help cover his weekly travelling costs of up to R180. Mahlaba lives at home with his mother and older brother, both of whom also rely on the R370 grant.

“My mother applied long ago, so she’s never had to request an identity verification. My brother also hasn’t struggled to get the grant,” he said.

Thandile Wonci, 26, from Makhanda in the Eastern Cape, has received the grant since March. Wonci says she mainly used the R370 to buy food and toiletries.

“I was on the Social Relief of Distress system, and it said that I needed to verify my identity. I clicked on the link, and it said I needed to wait three days to get the link. But I’ve been waiting since June,” she said. Wonci contacted Sassa and she was told to wait for an email.

“I haven’t received anything to date,” she said.

Issues around verification links

Letsatsi said Sassa was aware of issues around the verification links.

“This mainly happens when the Department of Home Affairs’ system, that Sassa uses to verify identities, is down,” he said.

Sassa is exploring options to resend links automatically or introduce a self-service portal for beneficiaries to request links. He emphasised that the biometric system was not designed to create barriers, “but rather a protective measure to limit identity theft”.

Letsatsi advised those struggling to retrieve their verification link to call Sassa toll-free at 080 060 1011.

Elizabeth Raiters, who heads the help desk at #PayTheGrants, told GroundUp that they are aware that many beneficiaries have been waiting for the link since June.

“Beneficiaries were shocked that after contacting us, the link got sent to them the same day. It’s sad because the poorest of the poor depend on the Social Relief of Distress grant to survive,” said Raiters.

Raiters criticised Sassa for its “poor communication” with Social Relief of Distress beneficiaries. She said many beneficiaries with the green ID book, which represented a significant percentage of the total, could not complete the verification process.

During a recent parliamentary briefing, the portfolio committee on social development expressed similar concerns about Sassa’s communication practices with beneficiaries. Letsatsi assured the committee that improvements are under way, particularly in rural areas, to ensure that beneficiaries received information in languages they understood. DM

First published by GroundUp.

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Issues around verification links