SASSA CEO Themba Matlou has issued a zero-tolerance warning to all SASSA officials: any employee caught manually bypassing the biometric verification system to approve grants faces immediate dismissal, criminal prosecution, and a court application to freeze their Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) benefits.
The warning, issued on 30 June 2026, comes after SASSA’s national biometric verification rollout — active across all 432 offices since September 2025 — has already suspended 68,000 fraudulent grants and recovered over R1 billion in irregular grant payments.
What the Biometric System Does
The biometric verification system requires beneficiaries to physically verify their identity at a SASSA office using facial recognition and fingerprint scanning. It cross-checks beneficiaries against:
- The Department of Home Affairs (deceased persons registry, identity records)
- SARS (undisclosed income)
- UIF (unemployment insurance payments)
- The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)
Grants are suspended if a beneficiary is notified to complete verification and fails to appear within two months.
By the Numbers: Biometric Drive Results
Since the rollout began in September 2025, SASSA has reported:
- 997,379 beneficiaries successfully verified
- 68,000 grants suspended for failure to verify or identity irregularities
- R1 billion+ in savings from fraud prevention
- 43 officials dismissed in the last financial year for grant fraud-related transgressions
- 7,779 complaints logged about the facial recognition system — attributed to poor lighting, connectivity issues, and missing Home Affairs records
If Your Grant Was Suspended Unfairly
Legitimate beneficiaries who have been suspended can reinstate their grant by:
- Visiting their nearest SASSA office in person
- Bringing their original South African ID (green book or smart card)
- Completing the biometric verification process on-site
SASSA confirmed that verified beneficiaries will have their grants reinstated within 5 working days.
If someone at a SASSA office asks for payment to “help” reinstate your grant, report them immediately to the SASSA fraud hotline: 0800 601 011 (free call).
