Students who exposed SASSA fraud urge overhaul of grant system
Two first-year students from Stellenbosch University have called on the Department of Social Development to overhaul SASSA’s Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant system.
Computer science students Joel Cedras and Veer Gosai presented their findings and recommendations to the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on Wednesday.
They uncovered vulnerabilities and instances of fraud within the application system while examining government and private-sector systems as part of their academic studies.
They discovered that the system is vulnerable to fraud after realising their own IDs were used to apply for SRD grants they never applied for.
SASSA was summoned to Parliament to account after the students exposed how the R350 SRD application system could be defrauded.
During the presentation, Cedras informed MPs that their research revealed the SRD grant system remains susceptible to fraudulent applications, urging immediate action to address these issues.
"We recommend that SASSA first look at restarting the entire grant system. It seems like too many applications are being made without people's knowledge, and we feel it would be too difficult for SASSA to detect all these fraudulent applications.
“Restarting the whole grant system allows SASSA to re-verify everyone, but with stricter verification processes to combat fraud," said Cedras.
Gosai recommended enhancing the verification process by introducing facial recognition or biometric checks to prevent fraudulent applications.
"Those who do not have smartphones but are capable of doing this should be able to go to their local SASSA offices to complete the verification.
“We understand that the people receiving these grants are most vulnerable and need this money the most," he said.
He added, "We advocate for further verification when creating an application. Currently, all you have to provide is your full name, surname, and ID number to apply for an SRD application.
“This is not enough. We think that by working with Home Affairs, SASSA can improve its systems by adding more validation that would leave fraudsters unable to create applications on people's names."
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