The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has been found to have paid over R1.3 billion in social grants to ineligible beneficiaries in the 2025/26 financial year. According to the Auditor-General's (AG) office, payments were made to deceased beneficiaries, people who work for the government and earn above the grant threshold, and to beneficiaries with invalid IDs. This revelation was made during a presentation to Parliament's social development portfolio committee.
The AG's office identified several issues with Sassa's verification processes, including a reliance on applicant-submitted information and a lack of integration with government systems. This made it difficult for Sassa to verify the eligibility of beneficiaries. The AG's Puleng Molapo stated that Sassa needs to invest in ICT systems to integrate with other government databases, which would help detect ineligible beneficiaries.
A comparison with the previous financial year shows that Sassa paid over R2.3bn to ineligible beneficiaries in 2024/25, which decreased by about R1bn to R1.33bn in the financial year under review. The breakdown of ineligible payments includes R211m paid to deceased individuals, up from R18.6m in the prior financial year, and R266.8m paid to government employees.
The AG's office also found that R18.9m was paid to people with invalid ID documents, up from R16.4m in 2024/25, and R235.1m was paid to people on the Government Employees Pension Fund, down from R246.5m the previous financial year. The biggest reduction was in the amount paid despite an incomplete database, which decreased from R1.776bn to R604.3m.
According to the AG's analysis, each million lost through these "leakages" could provide groceries worth R5,500 to 108 vulnerable families per month. The leakages have resulted in the entity receiving a qualified audit opinion from the AG. Molapo expressed concern that audit recommendations are not receiving the required attention.
Committee chairperson Bridget Masango expressed concern over the qualified audit opinion, highlighting the need for urgent intervention to strengthen the integrity of the social grants system. She emphasized that every rand lost through weaknesses in the system could otherwise be directed towards supporting vulnerable South Africans.
Masango urged the department and Sassa to strengthen their verification and control systems to ensure that public funds reach the intended beneficiaries. The committee will likely follow up on the matter to ensure that corrective actions are taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Key points
- Sassa paid R1.33bn to ineligible beneficiaries in 2025/26 due to verification issues.
- The AG's office identified several issues with Sassa's verification processes, including a reliance on applicant-submitted information and a lack of integration with government systems.
- The leakages have resulted in the entity receiving a qualified audit opinion from the AG.
