By Lwazi Raul
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) pleads with families of deceased beneficiaries to report their death and not draw their grants.
According to a statement sent by the Agency it states that a number of people keep on claiming money for deceased and never report them dead.
“When a death is registered at Home Affairs, as the systems interface and SASSA will automatically be notified and will make sure that we cancel the social grant immediately as Home Affairs Population Register is linked with the SASSA SOCPEN database.”
The Agency has also warned families of beneficiaries who died before the beginning of July not to withdraw the grant paid in the account of the deceased.
“By withdrawing the money, families are committing a serious fraud and criminal offence. Social Assistance Act demands that SASSA must recover the social grant payment withdrawn on behalf of the deceased. The law will demand that the money be paid back to SASSA or face the processes of law enforcement agencies.”
For more information one can contact the agency’s Customer Care Unit on (013) 754 – 9439/9428 or help desktoll free number: 0800 60 10 11 from 08:00 – 16:00 during week days Monday – Friday.
