The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) will introduce a mandatory biometrics enrolment system at all its offices from September 1 in a bid to prevent fraudulent activities.
Sassa believes the Beneficiary Biometric Enrolment system will revolutionise the administration of social grants and nip any graft in the bud.
This comes after a marathon of engagements with unions “on a myriad of issues and these have since been successfully resolved, paving the way for a new age for Sassa to administer a tight and credible grant system”, said Themba Matlou, Sassa CEO.
“Our plans were to commence with biometric enrolment at the beginning of the 2025/2026 financial year, however we hit a snag, but we have ironed out the issues that delayed our plans and it is all systems go for the implementation.
“The Beneficiary Biometric Enrolment comes as the agency is ramping up its efforts to improve its systems, detect and effectively root out any fraudulent elements in social grant administration.”
According to government about 28-million South Africans received social grants in 2025, representing about 45% of the population.
Matlou said the system is part of Sassa’s strategy to ensure every grant recipient is authentic and that the agency’s systems “are resilient against manipulation and error, especially in cases involving forged green identity documents that front-line staff cannot reliably detect”.
The biometric enrolment will ensure:
- Significant reduction in fraudulent applications and duplicate payments
- Reliable verification of beneficiary authenticity and proof of life
- Reduction in inclusion errors
- Streamlined documentation processes
- Enhanced audit outcomes and stronger record integrity
- Improved public trust in the Social Assistance Programme.
“This initiative will ensure the enhancement of risk controls, contributing to a more secure and accountable grants system, while ascertaining that social grant recipients are living individuals at the time of application.”
Grant applications captured and approved from September 1 onwards will include biometric fingerprint enrolment or facial recognition through electronic Know Your Client (eKYC).
Applications without biometric data will be put into a review cycle and the potential grant recipient will be notified about the need to capture biometrics.
“The agency has set up the necessary infrastructure and tools in all its offices across the country and August is being used to train front-line staff to ensure readiness, effective and efficient implementation of the biometric enrolment.”
Matlou said Sassa is committed to paying social grants to eligible beneficiaries and the agency will continue to work to strengthen and safeguard its systems.
“The agency will not hesitate to act against any of its officials should they be suspected of working with anyone to defraud its systems.”
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