The National Treasury has warned that fraud in South Africa’s social grant system remains a concern
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The National Treasury has warned that fraud in South Africa’s social grant system remains a concern, despite efforts to ensure only eligible people receive payments.
Speaking at Momentum’s post-budget breakfast, Treasury Director-General Duncan Pieterse said grant fraud is a an issue that the government is working around the clock to resolve.
IOL previously reported that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) had reviewed 240,000 social grants, suspending 70,000 due to non-compliance. The review, which involves partnerships with SARS, credit bureaus, and NSFAS, aims to verify beneficiaries and prevent fraud.
"We have worked with the department as well as SASSA to really clamp down on that and to make sure that there’s a lot more verification of beneficiaries so that individuals who are entitled to a social grant receive that social grant", Pieterse said.
“Our main concern at this stage is who receives social grants when they should not be.”
He added that the government is also looking at the long-term sustainability of the grant system.
"It's a fundamental part of our social compact, I would say, that the social grant system is well-funded and that we eliminate social grant fraud as far as possible, but also think that we must keep an eye on the long-term sustainability of this," Pieterse added.
"And it comes back to your question about growth, and how do we ensure that we create the kind of work opportunities for many of those individuals and their families so that we reduce the long-term burden on the state".
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, during his budget speech last week, also announced increases to social grants, which will take effect from April 2026. The increases include:
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