The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has dismissed 43 officials implicated in fraud, theft, corruption, and serious maladministration during the 2025/2026 financial year as the agency intensifies efforts to clean up its systems and improve governance.
The dismissals were revealed on Wednesday when the Department of Social Development, Sassa and the National Development Agency appeared before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations to outline budget allocations and measures aimed at safeguarding public funds.
Sassa CEO Themba Matlou told the committee the dismissals followed “stringent measures” introduced to combat fraud and corruption within the agency.
Matlou said the dismissed officials were also facing investigations by law enforcement agencies, while some had already appeared in court.
“These cases are at various stages of prosecution,” he said.
“This is a resounding success for us as an agency, as we continue to root out bad apples that are tainting our social grants system and bringing the good name of SASSA into disrepute through their misconduct.
“We are doing our best to further strengthen the implementation of our fraud prevention strategy to restore and enhance the integrity of our social grant system.”
More disciplinary cases still pending
Matlou attributed the progress to the work of Sassa’s internal Fraud Management and Compliance Department, which was established to implement anti-fraud and anti-corruption prevention and detection mechanisms.
He said the unit was also responsible for investigating and resolving corrupt activities within the agency.
However, Matlou warned that more officials could still face disciplinary action.
“There are still 65 outstanding cases to be finalised by the Agency’s Labour Relations Unit,” he said, adding that the agency intended to send “a strong message to anyone tempted to engage in corrupt activities”.
Acting Social Development Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga pledged support for stronger accountability and financial prudence across the department and its entities.
The department outlined several interventions to curb financial mismanagement, including strengthened internal controls and procurement oversight, regular expenditure monitoring and compliance checks, enhanced audit and reporting systems, improved consequence management processes, and ongoing fraud awareness and ethics interventions.
Digital upgrades planned
Sassa also informed Parliament of several initiatives planned for the current financial year to improve service delivery nationwide.
These include the implementation of a mobile app, offline capability systems, a single user interface, cybersecurity and threat intelligence systems, online grant applications, self-service kiosks at offices, and Wi-Fi and network upgrades at local offices.
As Sassa marks its 20th anniversary since being established in 2006, Matlou said the agency remained committed to improving services for beneficiaries.
Disability grant applicants advised to use clinics
Meanwhile, the Gauteng Department of Health and Wellness has urged disability grant applicants requiring medical verification forms for Sassa applications to visit clinics and community health centres instead of hospitals.
Gauteng Health MEC Faith Mazibuko said applicants seeking assistance with Sassa-related medical verification forms, also known as referral or functional referral forms, could access the service free of charge at primary healthcare facilities.
The department said some applicants were unnecessarily visiting hospitals, where administrative services could attract fees under the Uniform Patient Fee Schedule.
“Clinics and CHCs are closer to communities and are better placed to assist with Sassa-related forms without placing an additional financial burden on applicants,” Mazibuko said.
“We appeal to residents to only use hospitals for services that require specialised care.”
The department also advised applicants to bring their Sassa documents, identity documents and available medical records when visiting clinics or community health centres to help healthcare workers complete the forms accurately.
