SASSA has announced that it will be introducing mandatory Beneficiary Biometric Enrolment from September 1.

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

SASSA CEO Themba Matlou has expressed his 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.

The Beneficiary Biometric Enrolment comes at an opportune time when the agency is ramping up efforts to improve its systems, detect and effectively 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 Documents that frontline staff cannot reliably detect.