Civic groups welcome SASSA dismissals but demand criminal action - IOL

SASSA has dismissed 65 officials in misconduct cases since April 2025, while CEO Themba Matlou has raised concerns over death threats against officials handling investigations.

Community organisations have welcomed SASSA’s dismissal of 65 officials since April 2025, but are calling for criminal investigations, recovery of public funds and stronger safeguards for beneficiaries.

The SASSA officials were dismissed after being found guilty of serious misconduct by the Anti-Fraud Management Strategy, with disciplinary proceedings dating back to April 2025.

In the latest incident, four officials were dismissed in Gauteng following a disciplinary process into allegations of fraudulent social grant administration.

SASSA received 134 cases involving officials during the period. Of these, 106 had been finalised, while 28 remained pending, according to the agency.

The Eastern Cape recorded the highest number of dismissals among the provinces listed, with 19 officials losing their jobs since April 2025. 

Mpumalanga and Gauteng each recorded 13 dismissals, while KwaZulu-Natal recorded 11.

Rachael Naidoo, a secretary at Tongaat Civic Association, welcomed the fraud crackdown at SASSA. 

"While we as the Tongaat Civic Association applaud the SASSA National Anti-Fraud Management Strategy, the reality that corruption thrives within the very offices meant to shield the poor is a betrayal of public trust," she said.

Naidoo claimed that SASSA had a poor history of combating fraud and corruption.

"It is a moral and management failure that officials are manipulating the social grant system for personal gain while local families struggle with rising living costs. Massive dismissals confirm deep-seated systemic vulnerabilities. SASSA must modernise and secure its infrastructure to permanently lock out corrupt syndicates," she said.

She urged SASSA KZN provincial management to rapidly deploy vetted, ethical staff to local offices so that queues do not lengthen and grant processing times do not suffer. 

"Internal dismissal is not enough, we demand that the Hawks and police criminally prosecute every individual involved to ensure prison time, not just job loss. There must be recoveries of losses sustained through withholding pension fund benefits of the dismissed employees," said Naidoo.

She said that there should be a culture of transparency where whistleblowers were encouraged to come forward to report allegations of fraud and corruption with adequate protection. 

"We note that investigators have received death threats and the necessary steps must be taken to protect them. We sincerely hope that this is not a once off event, but must be ongoing and SASSA needs to win back the public's trust."

Ish Prahladh from eThekwini Civic Ratepayers applauded SASSA's move to dismiss the corrupt officials.

"This is great news, and this should have been done much earlier because of how much money the ratepayers have lost already. I do not think they have recovered the lost money," she said.

Prahladh said although SASSA claimed millions of rands were recovered, there is physically no sign of money returning to the public. 

Rose Cortes, of Westville Ratepayers Association, welcomed the decisive action against misconduct in public institutions.

"Accountability should never be optional, particularly in an institution such as SASSA, which is entrusted with serving some of the most vulnerable members of our society. However, dismissing 65 officials should not simply be celebrated as an achievement; it should also prompt some uncomfortable questions."

Cortes said that the SASSA management needed to ask themselves: How was misconduct allowed to take root?

"Where were the internal controls? How long did these irregularities continue before action was taken? And importantly, what measures have been introduced to prevent a recurrence?" she said. 

She said disciplinary action was necessary, but it was not the same as institutional reform.

"Where misconduct involves fraud, corruption or the misappropriation of public funds, dismissal alone cannot be the end of the matter. Criminal accountability and the recovery of public money must follow wherever the evidence warrants it," she said.

Cortes said she has consistently maintained that public office is a position of trust, not entitlement. 

"This principle applies equally to national, provincial and local governments. We also believe that the overwhelming majority of honest public servants deserve institutions in which integrity is protected and misconduct is addressed without fear or favour. The real measure of accountability is not how many people are dismissed, but whether the systems that allowed misconduct to flourish are fundamentally changed," she said.

Cortes added South Africans deserve a public service that is accountable every day, not only when misconduct is revealed.

Commenting after the officials' dismissal, SASSA spokesperson Dr Paseka Letsatsi told sundaytribune.co.za that the agency adopted a mechanism to ensure stolen funds are recovered.

“You will remember these are staff members, and if they are dismissed, obviously they would have their pension money. We would find out how much they have, and the agency is left with no option but to recoup the amount of money defrauded from the agency,” said Letsatsi.

SASSA chief executive Themba Matlo, warned that misconduct will not be tolerated and raised concern over death threats against officials handling wrongdoing cases.

Matlou welcomed the recent dismissal of four officials found guilty of various forms of misconduct, saying the disciplinary action demonstrated the agency’s efforts to strengthen accountability and protect the social grant system.

“The dismissal of these four officials demonstrates our efforts to strengthen accountability and protect the social grant system are yielding tangible results. 

“We are sending a clear message to every official that no one is above the law, no one is beyond accountability, and no one will be allowed to abuse their position at the expense of vulnerable beneficiaries and the South African taxpayer,” Matlou said," he said.

Matlou said the disciplinary outcomes formed part of its efforts to address wrongdoing within its ranks and safeguard a public institution responsible for administering social assistance.

Aroona Chetty, Director of Phoenix Child Welfare said the dismissal of 65 SASSA officials raised important questions about accountability and service delivery. 

“However, it is equally important to consider the impact that administrative failures have had on beneficiaries, particularly foster parents whose grants were stopped and took an unreasonable amount of time to be reinstated. 

“These delays place enormous financial pressure on caregivers and directly affect the wellbeing of vulnerable children. There should be transparency about what went wrong, support for Affected families, and concrete measures to ensure that beneficiaries are not subjected to the same hardship again,” said Chetty.