By Lee-Yandra Paulsen
Civil organizations are concerned that a new biometric system to prevent fraud could disrupt grant payouts. Speaking on VOC Breakfast on Tuesday Elizabeth Raiters from PayTheGrants raised some of the challenges around the system.
“The biometric identification system has been implemented since last week. Many beneficiaries have been flagged for fraud. They now have to complete an identification verification process through a link requested from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). Currently, these beneficiaries’ grants have been suspended,” said Raiters.
According to Raiters, thousands of beneficiaries have suffered since the implementation of biometric verification because they have not completed the process. This system was introduced without prior notice or SMS notifications to the grant recipients. As a result, many had their grants suspended, even though they were approved for June.
“This has significantly affected beneficiaries in rural areas, where many cannot read or write. Their grants have been suspended, and since the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant is only managed online, they cannot visit an office to resolve the issue. Many rural beneficiaries do not even know what is happening with their grants,” explained Raiters.
She added that there has been no communication from SASSA to the beneficiaries on what process to follow to gain access to their grants. PayTheGrants has been the only organization distributing information to educate beneficiaries on navigating the new biometric system.
VOC News
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