A 70-year-old suspect and another person were reportedly arrested a few weeks ago at SASSA’s office in Roodepoort, Johannesburg, on suspicion of corruption and for possessing an unlicensed firearm and ammunition after a whistleblower for the organization informed authorities about a scheme centered around old age grants.
Considering the gravity of the charges, it is anticipated that more inquiries will be conducted to identify additional participants in the scam. According to The Citizen’s website, the accusations stem from a system in which people applied for old-age benefits, and someone was given R1,000 as a bribe for each application.
How was the SASSA Kickback Program Carried Out?
The plan was carried out by approaching a SASSA representative and offering to register individuals for old age benefits outside the established processes in exchange for a fee. Initially, the employee was given a batch of 15 applications and R15,000 to process them in an unethical manner.
Later, 20 more applications were submitted, along with R23,150 in bribes. In addition to the kickback scheme, the persons involved faced further legal penalties after it was discovered that they had an unauthorized pistol and ammo in their car.
This Fraud Costs SASSA More Than R50 Million:
Lindiwe Zulu, the minister of social development, revealed that fraud and corruption had cost the South African Social Security Agency more than R50 million. This was a two-and-a-half-year financial loss. She stated that 40 officials were charged in these situations, which included over 700 events.
It was the outcome of several fraudulent operations, including the theft of social payments intended for the estates of deceased people, the filing of applications for disability awards using fictitious medical records, and the unlawful receipt of child support funds.
MP Bridget Masango of the Democratic Alliance (DA) attacked SASSA for being unable to combat fraud effectively. Beneficiaries of Social Relief of Distress (SRD) have complained repeatedly about the abuse of their ID numbers and personal information, but SASSA has not done enough to solve the problem.
Masango emphasized that many SRD recipients had their personal information stolen, which allowed for illegal access to and misappropriation of their awards. This problem highlights the need for SASSA to implement more robust security measures to safeguard award recipients’ personal information and ensure that fraudulent activity isn’t taking advantage of the system.
SASSA has demanded enhancing demands that its supervision and accountable response to the continuous fraud and corruption challenges. This entails conducting in-depth audits, putting more robust verification procedures for grant applications, and boosting money distribution transparency.
Furthermore, to investigate and prosecute those involved in fraudulent operations, SASSA is anticipated to work more closely with law enforcement organizations. By doing this, the organization hopes to rebuild public confidence and guarantee that social subsidies are distributed to the designated recipients without being diverted through dishonesty.