SASSA’s SRD grant suspension ‘unjustified’ – IEJ
The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) has called the suspension of the South African Social Security Agency’s (SASSA), Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant unjustified as beneficiaries are yet to know when payments will be made.
SASSA has suspended the grant as it undergoes security check processes to curb potential fraudulent activities.
The IEJ has however criticised the move, stating that the agency should manage its verification process in a manner that does not negatively impact beneficiaries.
“We know that there has been reports on vulnerabilities in the system, but we still don’t actually know the truth of the scale of the fraud, so we don’t know how many fraudulent applications have been opened, we don’t know how many of these fraudulent applications cases have been approved, and we don’t know how many of them have been paid,” said IEJ researcher Siy Siyanda Baduza.
"So there is no way to justify this large scale action when we actually don’t have the full information.” he added. Established during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the grant was designed to support citizens living in poverty and without income protection.
SASSA’s system has however been vulnerable to fraudulent activities, as exposed by two Stellenbosch University students who revealed issues on its application and payment systems allowing grant payments to those who do not qualify.
Baduza told Jacaranda FM News that beneficiaries are being unfairly blamed for the negligence of SASSA and the banks.
"We know that the fraud isn’t happening because people are willingly sharing with fraudsters, it’s because their data is being stolen from government platforms and also the banks themselves.”
The agency advised against using its 'status-check' system, warning that if their status is marked as "referred," it means the system has flagged potential fraudulent activity. Baduza argued that SASSA’s decision will negatively impact beneficiaries.
"Even once beneficiaries get the opportunity to reapply, many people are not going to be back paid for those missed grants. So, it’s going to affect a lot of people very negatively this month,”
"Some have suggested it should be eliminated to encourage people to stop relying on it. However, the institute called not only for an increase in the grant from R370 to R700 but also argues that the living conditions for many citizens have not improved since the pandemic, making it impossible to eliminate the support."
“The conditions that would require the government to support people who aren’t able to support themselves have not eased, which would be the other reason why the grant needs to be kept. It was not a temporary measure, if it was, it would have been taken away in 2020,” Baduza said.
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