Black Sash warns of potential pitfalls in Sassa’s biometric identification system

HUMAN rights organisation, Black Sash, has expressed serious concerns about the capacity of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) to roll out compulsory biometric identification for new beneficiaries from September.

- MAYIBONGWE MAQHINA [e-mail]

Black Sash spokesperson Oliver Meth said yesterday they have noted the announcement made by Sassa.

“While we recognise the need to strengthen systems and curb fraud in the social grant payment environment, any intervention must be designed and implemented in a way that does not further disadvantage or exclude the very people the grants are intended to support,” Meth said.

He also noted Sassa’s ongoing administrative and operational challenges that range from persistent long queues, delayed payments, a flawed review process, and the recent failures in managing Postbank card swaps.