The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has urged South Africans to truthfully disclose all sources of income when applying for social grants.

Sassa continues to review processes for social grant beneficiaries suspected of having additional sources of income and not disclosing it to the agency. Over 200 thousand SASSA beneficiaries faced delays in their June grant payments, due to income irregularities.

Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi says they’ve initiated a review intended to ensure continued eligibility and prevent misuse of funds.

“We have basically gone on a campaign as an organisation publicising for the past 3 months just to make sure that people are aware in terms of their responsibility, and in this case, people are responsible to make sure that when it comes to making an application at the SASSA offices, they become honest and disclose everything.

“It is giving us positive results and I think now people understand what we are trying to achieve. It is the responsibility of a beneficiary to make sure that if their situation in terms of employment or otherwise changes, they need to inform us,” Letsatsi explains.

SASSA probes grant recipients over possible undeclared earnings: Paseka Letsatsi

SASSA CEO, Themba Matlou, says almost 700 of the 1 200 social grant beneficiaries who were red-flagged in Mahikeng, North West, have been successfully assessed as part of the ongoing social grants reviews.

Matlou was visiting SASSA’s Mahikeng offices, as part of his oversight of the social grant reviews that were initiated to ensure that grants are only provided to individuals who meet the qualifying criteria and that no payments are made to deceased persons and beneficiaries who have failed to truthfully declare their financial circumstances.