Minister Dina Pule: Media briefing on plans to strengthen social development sector and social grants review process

Program Director;
Deputy Minister of Social Development;
Acting Director-General
SASSA CEO
Members of the Media;
Good afternoon.

Introduction

I must express my sincere gratitude for this platform to engage with our clients and beneficiaries on matters related to their social grants and most importantly providing update on current development including measures to improve accessibility at all fronts. I continue to be grateful to the President for the honour and trust he has placed in me through this appointment which I have accepted with humility and respect. I will use this position to restore the aspirations, confidence and dignity to all our social grant beneficiaries and communities who are facing long queues and frustrations in most of our offices.

This year mark twenty years since South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) was established in terms South African Social security Agency Act, 2004 and the Social Assistance Act, 2004 and these acts provide a clear constitutional mandate: to provide comprehensive social security services to eligible citizens with dignity, respect, and efficiency.

As we celebrate this milestone, we pay special tribute to the former Minister of Social Development, the late Dr Zola Skweyiya for his determination and foresight in the early design of South Africa’s Constitution and in the establishment of SASSA. For 20 years, SASSA has stood and continues to stand as a fulfilment of our Constitution’s promise of a dignified and better life for all, ensuring that the most vulnerable—children, older persons and persons with disabilities have the vital income support they need, and when they need most in their lives.

This an important reflection on a journey marked by resilience, innovation, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to the people of our country.

SASSA has evolved into one of the largest social protection systems on the African continent. Every month, we reach millions of beneficiaries across urban centres, rural villages, farms, informal settlements, and remote communities. Behind every grant payment is a human story, a grandmother feeding her grandchildren, a young child able to attend school, a family finding stability during difficult times. This is the true meaning of social security: restoring dignity and expanding opportunities.

Today, I want to speak directly to the millions of South Africans who depend on social grants and assure them that we have listened, heard and observed their frustrations they are recently experiencing and at the same time wish to commit that we remain fully committed to protecting both their dignity and their rights to social assistance.

Social grants are not merely payments, they are a lifeline to remove poverty from many households, the vulnerable, the child who depends on a grant, grandmother who holds a household together, the young person searching for dignity and work. They help keep the lights on in a household where no one else has an income. They provide support to persons with disabilities and bring stability to families facing difficult circumstances. For over these twenty years, our government has progressively advanced this course as we have witnessed that Social-assistance programmes have been expanding from covering just 2.7 million in 1994 at its launch in 2006, we administered grants just over 10 million beneficiaries monthly which grew to 19 million social grants today.

As we ensure that vulnerable are supported with social protection, we must do so to ensure that every eligible person receives the support to which they are entitled to. At the same time, we must ensure that public resources are protected and that the social assistance system remains credible, sustainable and fair.

Social grant reviews: Protecting the integrity of social grants

I must say in the few days in office, I received complaints regarding our people standing in long queues in most of our offices and had to step in urgently to understand the course and seek immediate intervention to bring back dignity and respect. One of the important programs we are implementing in SASSA is the social grant review process which I am reliably informed the agency launched in 2025 and did media briefing to educate our people on the importance of adhering to our social assistance regulations. I do understand this has caused panic and to a greater degree, frustrations in the social grant beneficiaries.

Let me however assure the public that in terms of Regulation 30 and Section 14(5) of the Social Assistance Act, 2004, SASSA is required to regularly review social grants to confirm beneficiaries’ continued eligibility, while beneficiaries are legally obliged to report any material changes in their circumstances, including financial or marital status.

Reviews help ensure that beneficiaries continue to meet the eligibility requirements for the grants they receive and that changes in financial, medical or personal circumstances are properly reflected in beneficiary records. This grant review process also continues to guard against the wasteful government resources in line with the already pressured government fiscus, the more we safe, the more our people are covered with social assistance. These measures are intended to enhance service delivery, improve operational efficiency, and ensure the costeffective administration of social assistance, while safeguarding the system so that social grants are paid only to eligible beneficiaries.

Simply put, social grant reviews help ensure that the right grant is paid to the right person, at the right time.

Reviews also protect the system against fraud, abuse and incorrect payments. In an age where government has access to improved data matching and verification capabilities, we have a duty to act when information suggests that eligibility circumstances may have changed.

We must indicate that our grant system has matured over time and integrated with other financial institutions and departments to a point where through data verification and validation process the agency flagged over 420 000 in 2025/26 up for reviews, over 240 000 completed reviews and about 160 000 failed to review. For 2026/27 we are targeting to review over 350 000 projecting to save about R1,5b for the government fiscus which can be redirected to fund other government priorities

Tackling fraud in the grant system

Our biometric verification programme has significantly strengthened identity authentication for new applications and grant reviews especially since it also interfaces with systems of the Department of Home Affairs on real-time basis. This technology helped prevent identity theft, duplicate claims and other forms of fraud that undermine public confidence in the system, including that more people are being arrested for committing fraud in the grant system.

The fight against fraud in the social grant system is also continuing through implementing eLife Certification as proof of life for our beneficiaries. Through e-Life Certification, beneficiaries are increasingly able to verify their continued existence and eligibility through secure digital processes.

This intervention is particularly important for older persons, persons with disabilities and beneficiaries living in remote areas who may struggle to travel to a SASSA office. We call upon clients to make use of digital platforms to avoid long queues at different offices.

Improving customer experience through technology

In addressing the community needs, reducing long queues and concerns, we are committing to leverage on the digital front to make services more convenient, more secure and more accessible.

We have launched a modernisation programme which includes expansion of digital service channels including enhanced online platforms (WhatsAPP, MobileAPP) for grant applications and broader digital service options to avoid our people visiting SASSA office. We are also in the process of adding more capacity to SASSA offices to ease the pressure of those offices that are understaffed and have more influx.

More than 1,000 contract workers are being recruited across the country to provide additional frontline support, assist with beneficiary enquiries, process applications and reviews, and reduce waiting times at service points, this will include extending operating hours in SASSA offices to enable more clients to be served. Our intention of restoring respect and dignity to those older persons is found in our policy of Home Visit to the clients that are older than 75 years and those frailed to avoid them visiting SASSA offices.

Conclusion

As I conclude, members of the media let me thank you for the continuous collaboration in ensuring that we educate our people. We are reminded that social protection remains one of the most powerful tools available to governments to reduce poverty and support vulnerable households, with this we shall not fail our clients.

As the Minister of Social Development, I want to assure every eligible beneficiary that government remains committed to safeguarding social grants and continuously improving the systems through which they are delivered. I will be visiting some offices in the next few days across provinces to monitor the implementation of these interventions, will be intensifying our engagement with communities to listen more on what and where they want us to improve, I will reach out to all stakeholders as well so that we don’t leave anyone behind.

These interventions will assist in restoring dignity and respect to the people who consider social assistance as their lifeline and achieving remains non-negotiable.

Together, we are building a stronger, smarter and more secure social protection system, one that protects public resources, empowers beneficiaries and upholds the dignity of every South African.

Thank you.

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