South Africa urged to address biometric IDV hassles for social grant beneficiaries

The South African government has been called upon to take remedial action as beneficiaries have continued to decry hurdles involved in the collection of their Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grants since the introduction of a biometric verification system early this year.

Many of those who have made changes to their personal details such as phone numbers or other demographic information updated in the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) database, have been most affected by the novelty, per IOL.

Complaints from SRD beneficiaries have also been pouring in over biometric verification failures, especially from those who do not possess a smart ID card, according to GroundUp.

Beneficiaries need to received a link via SMS which allows them to complete their biometric verification process by sending back a facial photo that must be matched with that on their identity card.

In the wake of these complaints, the Democratic Alliance (DA) party, in a statement early this month, urged SASSA to do the right thing in order to satisfy the “numerous beneficiaries who have not received this link due to systems allegedly being down at Home Affairs at the time of verification.”

“While the DA commends SASSA’s initiative in combating fraud with its new biometric system, the Agency needs to urgently implement contingencies to help beneficiaries unable to access and use the system – vulnerable beneficiaries cannot be allowed to suffer due to ineffective systems,” read a part of the statement issued by Briget Masango MP, DA spokesperson on social development.

“The DA will ensure that SASSA accounts to Parliament on the challenges of the new biometric verification system, as well as the procedures that have been put in place to ensure that all beneficiaries are assisted. We will also engage with the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, to ensure that the required verification links from his Department is sent without fail.”

Meanwhile, in a Q&A document posted on the X account of the South African government, SASSA affirms that those who fail to complete the biometric verification could have their grants suspended.

However, it clarifies that “the verification process is currently primarily aimed at selected categories of COVID 19 SRD clients and will not affect clients who are not listed in this category.” The categories concerned involve clients who intend to change their phone number and those whose information has been flagged in the system for possible identity theft.

SASSA also reiterates that the introduction of the biometric verification process is to enhance the distribution of the grants and to “curb the risk of social grants fraud.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  financial inclusion  |  fraud prevention  |  identity verification  |  social protection  |  South Africa