SASSA defends grant reviews as fraud controls, rejects exclusion claims

The South African Social Security Agency has defended its intensified social grant reviews and verification measures, saying they are needed to protect the integrity of the social assistance system and prevent fraudulent payments.

SASSA issued the statement on Friday after media reports about money paid to beneficiaries who were allegedly not eligible for grants during the 2025/2026 financial year. The agency also acknowledged issues raised before the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, and said it welcomed continued scrutiny of the administration of public funds.

Social assistance, SASSA said, is a constitutional obligation and a critical safety net for millions of vulnerable South Africans. The system, it added, must still be protected against fraud, abuse, errors, misrepresentation and payments to people who no longer qualify.

“The integrity of the social grants system cannot be protected by avoiding reviews simply because reviews may be uncomfortable or inconvenient,” the agency said.

The reviews and eLife certification have drawn criticism from some sections of society and interest groups, amid concerns that the interventions are intended to exclude legitimate beneficiaries. SASSA rejected those concerns, saying the processes are designed to establish whether beneficiaries still meet the prescribed eligibility requirements.

“A social grant is not an unconditional entitlement that continues irrespective of changes in a beneficiary’s circumstances. Beneficiaries have a responsibility to inform SASSA when circumstances that may affect their eligibility change,” it said.

Those circumstances include income, employment, marital status, banking details, residential circumstances and other material personal changes. Reviews, SASSA said, are an administrative and control mechanism to verify whether a beneficiary remains eligible for the grant they receive, and people who legitimately qualify should not fear a process meant to confirm that.

The agency said it has also stepped up eLife certification, which establishes whether beneficiaries are still alive and are the legitimate recipients of the money. The process is aimed at preventing payments where a beneficiary has died, where there is uncertainty about whether they are still alive, or where another person may be unlawfully accessing the grant.

“Social grants reviews and eLife certification are therefore not designed to arbitrarily terminate grants. They are a control mechanism intended to confirm the continued existence and eligibility of beneficiaries and to prevent fraudulent payments,” SASSA said.

A third intervention, Beneficiary Biometric Enrolment, is intended to strengthen identity verification and improve the security of grant transactions. SASSA said it forms part of broader efforts to reduce impersonation and fraudulent transactions while making sure grants reach their rightful recipients.

Given the scale of the public resources the system manages and the millions of people it serves, the agency said it cannot rely indefinitely on historical information, because systems, identities, personal circumstances and payment arrangements change over time.

“Controls must therefore evolve accordingly,” it said.

Source: SAnews (South African Government News Agency), SASSA steps up grant controls