SASSA officials suspended for corruption

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) is currently conducting 29 individual fraud investigation projects involving more than R93,4m and 216 employees.

In addition, hundreds of officials have been convicted, suspended or dismissed for fraud since April last year and during the 2013 financial year alone, cases of fraud involving more than R4,5m were captured on the fraud management system.

The minister of Social Development, Bathabile Dlamini, released these figures of suspended, dismissed and convicted officials for fraud-related matters during the Annual Sassa Anti-Corruption Conference 2013, held at the St George Hotel on Monday.

“Two hundred and forty-one Sassa officials have been dismissed, suspended and convicted for fraud. During the 2013 financial year alone, a total of 1 845 cases were captured on Sassa’s Fraud Case Management System,” said Dlamini at the conference, which aimed to look at issues of fraud while educating Sassa officials on how to prevent and detect fraud.

The minister said that although investigations of this nature may sometimes drag, she was pleased that they had moved with speed to finalise 841 of these cases.

“The monetary value of the finalised cases is R4 525 015, of which R203 050 has been recovered,” Dlamini said.

She added that currently, 29 individual investigation projects were being conducted by the Fraud Management and Compliance departments of Sassa and involved 216 employees, 6 792 grants and R93 423 260.

Dlamini appealed with officials not to allow corrupt syndicates to use them. She also emphasised the importance of government officials understanding their communities in order to understand the reasons for government paying out grants.

“It is sad and disturbing that members from communities in the committees that serve at Sassa pay-pension points are also involved in the corruption. We would expect them to work with the government and monitor the work that we are doing, but they are part of the chain of corruption,” Dlamini said to the 600 invited delegates from Sassa’s provincial offices.

Dlamini warned officials, especially women, not to allow themselves to be recruited by fraud syndicates. “Some of you are breadwinners and it is sad when families are left destitute because the provider in the family is convicted for fraud,” Dlamini said.

The Sassa Anti-Corruption Conference also touched on issues of loan sharks and money lending. Dlamini said the practice by unscrupulous business people of lending money to poor people at a ridiculously high interest rate works against the developmental objectives of government and perpetuates poverty.

“Money lending and the effects it has on undermining Sassa’s mandate cannot be left unchallenged. Our efforts to provide social security cannot look at fraud alone, they must also tackle the challenge posed by money lenders and loan sharks,” said Dlamini.

“There must be an understanding of why we have to pay people. It is because we are fighting poverty. If there are loan sharks lending, it means we won’t be able to fight poverty,” Dlamini reiterated.