South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) recently changed its laws on giving pensioners their grants.
Pensioners now have to provide proof that they are still alive through the Proof of Life Certification project.
Social grants will only be paid out after a fingerprint or voice verification has been done.
Proof of life can be verified at any SASSA pay point or a store with fingerprint scanners before grant pay outs every month.
In a statement, SASSA warned that should people use pin codes to withdraw at an ATM. At a store without fingerprint readers, users should first phone one of the telephone numbers below to undergo the proof of life verification. The numbers to call are 0860 690 717 when using a Telkom line, cellphone number or public phone.
Users can also call 082 1277 when using a Vodacom sim card. These starter packs were handed out to some beneficiaries during the SASSA re-registration. This call is free and the sim card can be used every month to call the voice verification service.
Pensioners who would like to receive a free Vodacom Starter Pack should visit their nearest SASSA office.
Users can follow the voice prompt instructions so that their voices can be matched to the voice recording which was taken during SASSA re-registration.
The user can elect to do the verification in English, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, Venda, Tsonga or Xhosa.
Once a user’s voice print has been validated, the system will inform the user that they have been successfully verified. The social grant then becomes available immediately.
Berg van den Berg, a Sophiatown resident, was angered by these changes.
“These old people cannot walk properly and do not know what a phone is. How are these people supposed to draw their money?” Van den Berg complained.
As of February 2014 about 20 million people receive grants each month.
SASSA was unavailable for further comment by the time of going to print.
