The Auditor-General's office has reported that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) paid over R1.3 billion in social grants to ineligible beneficiaries in the 2025/26 financial year. This includes payments made to deceased beneficiaries, people who work for the government and earn above the grant threshold, and to beneficiaries with invalid IDs. The Auditor-General's office made the findings public during a presentation to parliament's social development portfolio committee.
According to the Auditor-General's office, R211 million was paid to deceased individuals, which is up from R18.6 million in the prior financial year. Additionally, R266.8 million was paid to government employees, compared to R260.7 million in 2024/25. The office also found that R18.9 million was paid to people with invalid ID documents, up from R16.4 million in 2024/25. Furthermore, R235.1 million was paid to people on the Government Employees Pension Fund, down from R246.5 million the previous financial year.
The Auditor-General's office noted that Sassa relies heavily on the information submitted by applicants to be registered as beneficiaries. However, due to the lack of integration of government systems, it is difficult for Sassa to verify some of the specific information. The office recommended that Sassa invest in ICT systems for integration, which would make it possible to detect some of the specific individuals or issues that have been identified.
The Auditor-General's office also highlighted that 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 Auditor-General. The office expressed concern that audit recommendations are not receiving the required attention, leading to pervasive mismanagement or leakage of public funds.
Committee chairperson Bridget Masango expressed concern over the qualified audit opinion, particularly given the department's responsibility for administering social protection programmes and safeguarding public resources. Masango emphasized that weaknesses in the system continue to expose public funds to wastage, particularly where payments are made to people who are no longer eligible to receive social grants.
Masango urged the department and Sassa to strengthen their verification and control systems to ensure that public funds reach the people for whom they are intended. She emphasized that every rand lost through weaknesses in the system is a rand that could otherwise be directed towards supporting vulnerable South Africans. The committee chairperson called for urgent intervention to strengthen the integrity of the social grants system.
The presentation made to the committee showed that in the 2024/25 financial year, the agency paid over R2.3 billion to ineligible beneficiaries, which has decreased by about R1 billion to R1.33 billion in the financial year under review. The Auditor-General's office noted that Sassa is on the Home Affairs database but is loading that manually, on a monthly basis, which caused delays in the system.
Key points
- Sassa paid R1.33 billion to ineligible social grant recipients in 2025/26.
- The Auditor-General's office found that payments were made to deceased beneficiaries, people who work for the government and earn above the grant threshold, and to beneficiaries with invalid IDs.
- The committee chairperson urged the department and Sassa to strengthen their verification and control systems to prevent further leakages.
