Here’s why people with green ID books are struggling with SASSA’s new verification process
Many beneficiaries of the monthly R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant might not be paid
Some SRD grant beneficiaries with green ID books have been struggling to access their R370-per-month grant due to a new identity verification process. Archive photo: Mosima Rafapa
- Beneficiaries of the R370-a-month Social Relief of Distress grant may find they are unable to successfully complete a new identity verification process if they still have a green ID book.
- The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) recently introduced biometric verification through facial recognition to mitigate fraud.
- #PayTheGrants criticised SASSA for introducing this measure at a time of the month when beneficiaries were awaiting payment.
Over the past two weeks thousands of people have been struggling to access their Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant because of a new identity verification process introduced to fight fraud.
On Wednesday the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) told GroundUp that “although it’s not essential to have a smart ID”, grant recipients with the old green ID book “have a higher chance of unsuccessful verification when doing the facial biometrics”. This is due to the poorer quality of photos in the green book.
Last week, GroundUp reported that SRD beneficiaries complained that they could not access their R370 grant because of the new identity verification process.
Members of the #PayTheGrants campaign, who were inundated with requests for help from beneficiaries desperate to get their money, flagged the issue with SASSA but had yet to receive a response.
Since earlier this year, SRD beneficiaries who change or want to change their mobile numbers must undergo a biometric ID verification. But now, beneficiaries suspected by SASSA of committing identity theft or of being victims of identity theft are also expected to do so. These beneficiaries will be sent an SMS with a link where they will be asked to take a clear photo of their face and send it back. They will then be notified if the process was successful or not.
Paseka Letsatsi, SASSA spokesperson, said, “If this biometric test fails, they will need to get a new ID which includes advanced biometric features.”
SRD grant payments for those who require facial verification will be withheld “until the applicant confirms their identity through facial recognition”, he said. This is “to limit the possibility of identity theft”.
#PayTheGrants deputy director Elizabeth Raiters criticised SASSA for failing to adequately explain these changes to beneficiaries. She said the requirement had come as a surprise to many beneficiaries who still have the green ID book. People are only learning of the requirement when they phone SASSA’s help desk out of desperation.
On Monday alone, #PayTheGrants received “hundreds of complaints” from beneficiaries about this, she said.
This week, GroundUp also received several emails from affected beneficiaries.
We phoned SASSA’s call centre four times between 10:45 and 12:20 on Tuesday. Each time we heard the automated voice say: “We are experiencing high call volumes”.
On the fifth attempt, we got through to an agent. We asked if a SRD beneficiary could complete the identity verification process if they had a green ID book, to which the agent responded that beneficiaries would need a smart ID card.
SASSA uses Home Affairs’ database to verify a beneficiary’s identity through its electronic facial recognition software, the agent said.
This has caused panic among beneficiaries who are unlikely to be able to apply and get a smart ID before the next payment date.
While #PayTheGrants does not oppose SASSA’s efforts to curb fraud, the movement is concerned that this verification process was implemented at the time of the month when beneficiaries expected to be paid.
“Some beneficiaries were already approved to get their grants in June and were preparing to get that money, but now they can only access their grants after they have applied for and received their smart ID cards,” said Raiters.
While the Department of Home Affairs has implemented measures to improve efficiency, its offices are still plagued by long queues and lengthy waiting times. This may further delay SRD beneficiaries from completing the verification process and receiving their grants, Raiters said.
Next: Last-minute Lottery funding for the National Arts Festival
Previous: Namaqualand community raises the alarm over copper mining in their small town
Letters
Dear Editor
My son has the same problem. He has phoned SASSA several times. He clicks on the link but when he opens the camera it freezes. The agents he's spoken to say they can't help him and he must keep trying. It's been three months since he applied for the grant and keeps trying. They say they need to verify his ID but surely his info is at Home Affairs?
Dear Editor
I don't have a green ID book I have a smart card so I don't know what is happening. SASSA has not paid me my R370 grant and there are other months SASSA didn't pay me. I don't have an income source.
Dear Editor
All South African citizens should be in possession of a birth certificate, with an identity number. When green ID books were introduced, all applicants were fingerprinted. It has since been proven that fingerprints fade, particularly in the elderly, thereby rendering them helpless on application. I have witnessed this.
I would propose that your ID book proving you're a SA citizen should be good enough. This is a catastrophe waiting to happen! Online services for this idea must be in place. Home Affairs is ineffective, poorly managed and simply not capable of this service.
Dear Editor
This just proves how the government really does not care for its people, because thinking back this system was actually supposed to be introduced earlier this year but was held back (from what I see, it was held back to secure votes in the election). Because how is it that I could vote in the elections with my greenbook ID but now I cannot collect the SRD because I need a smartcard? Somebody please make it make sense?
I have to actually pay R160 excluding taxi fare to apply for one. So all in all, it's going to cost me over R200 to get the smartcard ID. Where must I get the funds for that? It's so unfair for the rest of us. Because the people making these decisions are so detached from the reality of ordinary South Africans living below the poverty line. Truly heartbreaking.
© 2024 GroundUp. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and GroundUp, and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
We put an invisible pixel in the article so that we can count traffic to republishers. All analytics tools are solely on our servers. We do not give our logs to any third party. Logs are deleted after two weeks. We do not use any IP address identifying information except to count regional traffic. We are solely interested in counting hits, not tracking users. If you republish, please do not delete the invisible pixel.