The DA has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to commission an independent audit of all social grant recipient databases as a matter of urgency.
The purpose of the audit will be to review the integrity of the data, weed out undeserving recipients, and institute processes to recoup money that has been irregularly disbursed.
The call follows revelations by Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) paid out R140 million to 75 000 deceased beneficiaries over the past three financial years. Zulu’s revelations came in a response to a DA parliamentary question.
In a separate case, the Minister of Minister of Public Service and Administration, Sizwe Mchunu, revealed that 5,812 Covid-19 social relief of distress grants, and 33,833 social grants were cancelled after it was discovered that the applicants or beneficiaries had contravened the Social Assistance Act by furnishing false information.
To continue using these databases, despite these glaring shortcomings, would be grossly irresponsible and an unacceptable neglect of assigned responsibility on the part Ramaphosa as the head of the Executive, says the DA.
Of serious concern, is that there appears to be no sustained effort to recoup money that has been irregularly paid out to undeserving recipients. This is despite clear evidence of a violation of the law. Despite violations amounting to 40 000, the public service system has only instituted 42 disciplinary proceedings against implicated public servants for improper behaviour. This is just a drop in the ocean considering the scale of the fraud that took place.
In addition to recouping the monies fraudulently lost, the DA is of the view that criminal investigations must be instituted against all the implicated individuals.
