Bid to stop grant fraud

The South African Social Security Agency has asked more than 15million grant recipients to re-register after discovering it was awarding grants to people who were dead.

It was also paying out child-care grants to adults who had rented children to act as their own.

The widespread fraud has prompted the agency to change the way it distributes social grants.

The new system requires all grant applicants to re-register with the agency, providing a full set of fingerprints and their ID books.

The agency, part of the Department of Social Development, this week took out lengthy newspaper advertisements to inform beneficiaries who receive social grant payouts at banks where to re-register.

Agency spokesman Thomas Huma said the new registration system had been designed to "e nsure proof of life of beneficiaries, and ensure that beneficiaries are not registered more than once".

A five-year Special Investigating Unit probe into the Department of Social Development that ended in 2011 uncovered "widespread abuse of the social grant system" by the agency's employees.

The unit was able to recover R56-million from officials.

Childline's advocacy officer, Joan van Niekerk, welcomed the agency's new security measures.

"Grants are a massive cost to the economy and are quite seriously exploited by fraudulent activity.

"Childline sees the need to re-register as an ongoing need.

"If some fraud is stopped by the new system, Sassa will recoup the money spent on advertising many times over."

It is unclear how much money is lost to grant fraud, but the spending on grants is equal to what the government spends on health.

Finance Minster Pravin Gordhan allocated R105-billion towards the payment of social grants for the 2012/2013 financial year.

Gordhan announced last year that with the number of grant recipients expected to increase to 17million people by 2017, the cost of social grants was expected to hit R135-billion.

Re-registration will take place at local community halls, civic centres and churches.

Approved applicants will receive a bank card with a secure PIN number and be able to draw grants from banks.

The agency's system interfaces with the Department of Home Affairs' computer system so that when a person is listed as dead, grants will no longer be paid out to them.

Caregivers who claim child grants will need to present their child at a registration point for fingerprints to be taken.

Disabled people and those above 75 years who need to be visited by officials to re-register can call 080-060-1011 for assistance.

SA'S FOOD FOR THOUGHT

HOUSEHOLDS' SOURCES OF FOOD

• Share meals with neighbours:

5% at least five times a week

10% at least once a week

10% at least once a month

2% at least once in six months

• Food provided by neighbours:

2% at least five times a week

15% at least once a week

20% at least once a month

2% at least once in six months

• Food borrowed from others:

2% at least five times a week

10% at least once a week

10% at least once a month

5% at least once in six months

1% at least once a year

• Supermarkets:

5% at least five days a week

20% at least once a week

40% at least once a month

2% at least once in six months

10% at least once a year

• Small shops/takeaways/restaurants

25% at least five days a week

40% at least once a week

15% at least once a month

2% at least once in six months

1% at least once a year

• Informal markets/street food

20% at least five days a week

40% at least once a week

10% at least once a month

5% at least once in six months

1% less than once a year

FOOD TYPES CONSUMED BY HOUSEHOLDS IN PREVIOUS 24 HOURS

Cereals (93.2%)

Other foods (88.4%)

Sugar or honey (82.8%)

Foods made with oil, fat etc (71.9%)

Roots or tubers (67.2%)

Vegetables (61.9%)

Meat, chicken, offal (57.2%)

Cheese, yoghurt, milk (45.3%)

Fruit (33.8%)

Eggs (28.6%)

Fish (16%)