The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) will introduce mandatory beneficiary biometric enrolment (BBE) at all of its offices from September 1.

In a statement issued today, Sassa said BBE is expected to revolutionise the administration of social grants and is a precursor to detect and nip in the bud any potentially fraudulent activities in Sassa’s grant system.

The agency said this comes after engagements with organised labour on a myriad of issues that have been successfully resolved, paving the way for a new age for Sassa in its resolve to administer a tight and credible grant system.

Sassa CEO Themba Matlou expressed relief at the conclusion of discussions with organised labour.

“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,” he said.

BBE comes at an opportune time when the agency is ramping up efforts to improve its systems and detect and root out any fraudulent elements in social grant administration.

Moreover, biometric enrolment is a strategic move to ensure every grant recipient is verifiably authentic and that Sassa’s systems are resilient against manipulation and error, especially in cases involving forged green identity books that frontline staff cannot reliably detect.

BBE 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 includes biometric fingerprint enrolment or facial recognition, through electronic Know Your Client.

Applications without biometric data will immediately be put into the review cycle, notifying the client of the need to capture biometrics, as per the review processes.

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 people at the time of application.

The agency has set up the necessary infrastructure and tools at all its offices across the country.

Frontline staff are being trained to ensure their readiness and the effective and efficient implementation.

“Sassa reiterates its commitment and resolve to pay the right social grant to the eligible beneficiaries, and the agency will continue to work with all its stakeholders in strengthening and safeguarding 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,” the CEO said.

For grant enquiries, beneficiaries are urged to visit www.sassa.gov.za, call the toll-free number at 0800 60 1011. – SAnews.gov.za

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