By Kouthar Sambo
Two students detected loopholes in the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) payment system and have called on the government to restart the entire grant system. This comes after two first-year IT students briefed the Social Development Committee yesterday on how easy it is to defraud the system when applying for the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.
Furthermore, the matter has prompted SASSA to urgently investigate the findings presented by the two students. Speaking on VOC’s PM Drive show on Thursday, SASSA spokesperson, Paseka Letsatsi, said the system is being assessed for stability, whether the system can be penetrated or manipulated externally.
“The Minister of Social Development, Ms Sisisi Tolashe, is given 30 days to conduct a thorough investigation, she has to return to parliament to present a report on her findings around the instability and IT division of SASSA,” explained Letsatsi.
“The students were doing a study and checking if people could fraud the system. However, SASSA believes it is important to address and investigate the matter. I would like to appeal to the public to give the investigation a chance by the end of the 30 days so the report can be presented,” stressed Letsatsi.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development (Ms Bridget Masango) has prompted Ms Tolashe, to conduct an investigation into the weaknesses identified in the SASSA SRD grant application and payment system.
“These weaknesses have created a loophole that enabled fraudsters to illegally apply for and receive the grant using the ID numbers of unsuspecting South African citizens,” expressed Masango.
“The committee this morning received a briefing from Mr Joel Cedras and Mr Veer Gosai, first-year University of Stellenbosch students. The two students identified vulnerabilities in the SRD grant application and payment system through an informal on-campus survey they conducted after they realised that they were unable to apply for the grant.”
“The system reported that they had already applied for and received the grant, even though they did not apply for this grant, nor receive any payments. The students emphasised that they had conducted the survey and published their findings out of concern that the fraud in the system robbed the poor and vulnerable, particularly the youth, out of the social protection they need,” detailed Masango.
*Feel free to listen to the interview further on VOC’s PM Drive show
Photo: VOCfm