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By Baldwin Ndaba 
12h ago
Johannesburg – The SA Social Services Agency (Sassa) has pledged to act harshly against people making claims of fraudulent social benefits while holding full-time jobs.
Sassa Chief Executive Busisiwe Memela-Khambula told media in Pretoria on Monday that the agency made this surprising discovery while processing applications for people who qualify for the R350 Social Relief Distress fund, commonly known as “unemployment benefit “
The grant was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last month after an increase in Covid-19 cases.
Additional financial relief was also extended to child care and foster care recipients as well as old-age subsidy recipients for a limited period of six months.
According to Sassa, the alleged fraud was discovered when they included the databases of the Home Affairs Fund and Unemployment Insurance (FIU) in the Sassa network in their attempt to ensure that all who applied for the unemployment grant have provided the credible information agency.
Memela-Khambula said its preliminary findings were made in the past few weeks when they tested the payments.
“Of every 100,000 people who applied electronically, we found that 50% of them were already receiving grants. It was the same case with those who requested by email.
“A total of 250,000 emails used to apply. At least 50% of them also received social benefits,” said Memela-Khambula.
Speaking out the requirements for qualifying for unemployment benefits, Memela-Khambula and Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu were unanimous when they revealed that potential applicants must be South African citizens and other qualified foreign citizens who are legitimately in the country.
“The grant will be available to South African citizens, permanent residents or refugees registered in the Home Affairs system who are residents within the borders of the Republic of South Africa,” said Zulu.
He added that everyone must be 18 years of age or older, unemployed, receive no social grant or FIU benefit, or not qualify for FIU.
The government also revealed that college and university students receiving financial aid for students, as well as prisoners and homeless people living under the care of the Department of Social Development, also do not qualify for the grant.
The amount to be paid to eligible applications will be R350 per month, from May to October 2020.
“Let me hasten to add that as we implement this special grant, we will be vigilant and will not tolerate any type of fraud and corruption. Therefore, we have incorporated strong cybersecurity and robust monitoring mechanisms in this regard. All cases of suspected fraud or corruption will be thoroughly investigated with appropriate measures taken where such conduct is found, “Zulu said.
Zulu and Sassa indicated that prospective applicants would have to provide the mandatory information to process their applications, including their ID numbers or an Internal Affairs permit, gender and disability status specifications, their verified bank details, as well as proof of residency. , among other things. .
Appealing for patience, Zulu said, “We are aware that we may have some challenges as we implement this grant and we appeal to members of the public to be patient as we embark on this journey.”
Political Bureau
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