SASSA anti-fraud strategy begins to bear fruit

SASSA has recently been targeted by criminal syndicates and various attempts were made to defraud its system.

Totsie Memela, SASSA CEO, said its anti-fraud strategy has been continuously tested over the years by these criminals.

Memela said successful arrests have continuously been made, and the justice system always comes to the party, securing significant convictions.

Just on Monday, a couple was sentenced to eight and 10 years in jail for fraud amounting to over R1.2 million in the Eastern Cape.

Their modus operandi was to register fraudulent social grants on the SASSA system.

One of the convicted fraudsters was an employee of SASSA and had access to the SASSA system while the other partner was the brains behind the fraud.

In another case, 23 suspects appeared in the Nelspruit Regional Court for using identity documents of members of the public to register fraudulent grants.

Another syndicate will appear in court on 7 August charged for trying to hack the SASSA system with some sophisticated gadgets.

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Memela said these continuous breakthroughs made by law enforcement agencies bear testimony to the resilience of the SASSA strategy which is anchored on prevention, detection and strengthening internal controls among others.

“This strategy is driven by multi-disciplinary teams of law enforcers who collaborate to detect fraud and unleash the might of the law on those suspected of committing it. We have adopted a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and will stop at nothing to root it out at first sight, so criminals, be warned,” said Memela.

SASSA also works with institutions from the banking industry in the fight against fraud and corruption and all these partnerships should present fraudsters with a mountain to climb if they plan to defraud SASSA in the future.

The public is called upon to blow the whistle and report cases of corruption to the Anti-corruption hotline on 0800 43 43 73.

“We need to work together even more with the public to fight corruption and ensure that public funds are not abused by anyone,” concluded Memela.

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At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.

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