Sassa has more than 18 000 job positions under its umbrella but more than half were created 17 years ago and never filled.
South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) offices are running at less than 50% capacity but the grant administrators state the reason is “economical”.
The Department of Social Development (DSD) was asked earlier this month about the vacancy rate at Sassa branches, with Minister Nokuzola Tolashe’s office providing the stats.
The ministry explained how changes in the organisational structure of the agency had led to a high number of vacancies.
Funded Sassa posts
A written response to a parliamentary question showed that Sassa has a staff vacancy rate of 62%.
A total of 18 603 permanent posts exist on Sassa’s books, but only 7 076 positions are filled.
Of those filled positions, 4 806 staff members dealt directly with grant applications at local offices countrywide, while the remainder were in more senior administrative positions.
The department operates on a “funded posts” model, where only critical positions with adequate budget are filled.
Tolashe’s offices said that 144 vacant funded posts were in the recruitment process and another 128 had been vacated, leaving only 272 of the 18 000 positions vacant.
“The latter indicates the Agency has a 2% vacancy rate in terms of funded posts,” stated the ministry’s response.
Organisational structure
The difference in the overall number of positions and funded positions relates to a planned shift in hiring that has yet to materialise.
Sassa stated in their 2025/26 annual performance plan (APP) that the surplus positions were created “between 2006 and 2008 on the assumption that the agency was going to insource the full grant payment value chain”.
“The organisational structure is currently under review. During this process the agency has taken a decision to prioritise and fill all local office posts as they become vacant,” stated the ministry’s recent response.
A total of 4 892 local office funded posts exist, with only 86 — 1.75% — being vacant.
The Eastern Cape has the highest number of vacancies with 14, with the Free State registering the least with three.
“The agency has always been very economical when deciding on the filling of posts, focusing on those classified as critical, hence the total number of filled posts has never exceeded the 9 000 mark,” stated the APP.
Administrative plans
Tolashe’s office stated that a limited employee remuneration budget forced it to use community registration outreach programmes to provide service in remote areas.
“The agency is planning to automate its business processes which will bring about improved services and efficiencies in service delivery,” the ministry stated.
In terms of costs to operate the Sassa payment, the entity aimed to keep those figures under 5% of the total social grant expenditure
“For the 2023/24 audited financial year, the administrative cost stood at 3% — R7.3 billion of R251 billion — which is within the acceptable standard,” the APP stated.
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