SASSA to halt R370 SRD grant payments – Who will be impacted?
SASSA said R370 SRD grant beneficiaries must ensure that they don’t share their identity numbers to avoid becoming aiding fraudsters.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) announced that R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant recipients must reapply as payments have been paused for identity verification.
SASSA says this was done to ensure that it pays social grants to the correct people and avoids identity theft.
WHY WOULD SASSA SUSPEND R370 SRD GRANT PAYMENTS?
In a statement, the agency said after the grant has been suspended, the beneficiary will be allowed to re-apply.
“The agency is encouraging people to take responsibility for ensuring their identity numbers are not utilised for fraudulent activities. SASSA beneficiaries must ensure that they do not share their identity numbers with strangers to avoid becoming aiding fraudsters,” SASSA said.
In December, the Minister of Social Development Sisisi Tolashe said the agency is working to review the systems and improve security to eliminate any weaknesses.
SASSA also acknowledged that the SRD system has faced ongoing fraud and corruption issues since its inception. Hence, the introduction of ‘Know your client’ biometric facial-recognition technology which has been suspended to enhance its functionality until further notice.
This, after two students from the University of Stellenbosch identified multiple vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the SRD grant system and an independent investigation initiated by Tolashe substantiated the findings.
HOW WILL BENEFICIARIES KNOW THEIR PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED?
SASSA said that when beneficiaries check their status and see it is “referred”, the system has flagged potential fraudulent activity. Therefore, the beneficiary must contact SASSA immediately to resolve the issue.
“Beneficiaries are urged not to keep changing their banking details and contact numbers because those processes delay the payment processes.”
HERE ARE THE JANUARY PAYMENT DATES
Meanwhile, SASSA has confirmed the R370 SRD grant payment dates for January.
Recipients can expect to get payments in their bank accounts from Saturday, 25 January. The payments will continue until the following week on Friday, 31 January.