South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) CEO Themba Matlou has issued a stern warning that any agency officials found bypassing the mandatory biometric verification system to process social grants will face immediate dismissal and criminal prosecution. The agency is also taking steps to secure financial recoveries by applying to the High Court for preservation orders against the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) benefits of implicated staff members.
Systemic Integrity And Accountability
The crackdown comes as SASSA intensifies its efforts to enforce the use of the Beneficiary Biometric Enrollment system, which was rolled out nationwide on 1 September 2025. By requiring individual fingerprints or facial recognition for new grant applications and flagged files, the agency effectively removes the reliance on password-based access that has historically been exploited for illicit purposes.
All officials found to have bypassed the Sassa biometric system to process and approve applications will be charged and dismissed from the agency, said Themba Matlou.
Sassa will apply for preservation order on the GEPF of the capturer, the verifier and the approver of such grant applications through high courts to recover all financial losses suffered by the state.
Combating Internal Corruption
The move follows a challenging period for the agency, which saw approximately 43 officials dismissed during the previous financial year for various transgressions, including enabling fraudulent payments. By mandating biometric verification, SASSA aims to ensure that social grants are only accessed by eligible beneficiaries while building forensic evidence trails that hold individual staff members accountable for their administrative actions.
The agency expects these measures to significantly reduce identity theft and illegal grant distributions as investigations into ongoing systemic abuse continue.