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A Sassa card, card machine and a biometric device.
According to Social Services Minister, Sisisi Tolashe, they have saved about R300 million since the recent biometric systems implementation.
Tolashe says this is despite the digital identification programme operating in only a few pilot offices. The minister visited the Mbekweni South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) office in Paarl, one of the pilot centres, in the Boland.
As part of the ICROP, Minister Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe together with SASSA CEO, Mr. Themba Matlou visited the SASSA Paarl Local Office to monitor operations and ensure efficient service to beneficiaries.
The visit focused on the Biometric Beneficiary Enrolment (BBE), the Queue… pic.twitter.com/RyMHfjOzYy
— SASSA (@OfficialSASSA) February 13, 2026
It was towards the end of last year that the department of Social Services introduced the mandatory biometric systems. Grant recipients were asked to resubmit or present themselves in person to verify their existence.
It follows public outcry about thousands of non-qualifying people, who defraud the social grant system.
The biometric system is designed to combat fraud, improve the security of the social grant system, and ensure that payments are made to eligible, living individuals. Tolashe says the system shows promising results at the few pilot centres.
“Yes there were plus minus 210 000 people who were wrongly accessing our grants. We are hard at work in making sure that we catch them and take them through the police. We are cleaning our system. The biometrics are really making sure we process the grants to people who are eligible. We have, through biometrics, saved plus minus R300 million. Already but remember we have not done it in all nine provinces. We are still in the pilot process,” adds Tolashe.
The Mbekweni SASSA office is one of the busiest in the province.
“This office alone serves 33 wards, that’s a lot. It means it is one of the busiest, and also to come and see whether our systems are working and yielding the results. We would like to see so that we are even more agile in making sure that we implement in other offices,” she says.
Grant applicant, Madelein Jacobs came to check on her application for her child grant. She was not happy with the delays due to alleged identity fraud.
“My duplication case is from 2020 and I’m still suffering with that. It’s still a problem with the SASSA office. Now I get social grant from a double 7 number which and I can’t use my own ID. It means I have to use the double 7 number here at SASSA because someone else is using my number,” explains Jacobs.
Tolashe says her department is in the process to negotiating more space or mobile offices for quicker turnaround times.
Currently, 28 million South Africans receive social grants.
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