SASSA urges SRD grant beneficiaries to complete identity verification to avoid payment delays

SASSA has called on Social Relief of Distress grant beneficiaries to urgently complete their identity verification
Image: Tracy Adams
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has called on Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant beneficiaries to urgently complete their identity verification to prevent delays or disruptions in payment.
This comes after the agency also introduced a mandatory biometric enrolment and identity verification process designed to enhance security, particularly for beneficiaries using alternative forms of identification instead of the standard 13-digit South African ID number.
The SRD grant was first launched by the government in 2020 as an emergency measure to alleviate the financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement issued to the media last week, SASSA Mpumalanga spokesperson Senzeni Ngubeni said all beneficiaries must go through the verification process to avoid delays in receiving their grant.
'There is no shortcut. All beneficiaries who are required to go through this process must do so to avoid delays and the disappointment of not receiving the grant,' Ngubeni said.
Ngubeni explained that beneficiaries who receive an 'identity verification' status message may do so due to suspected fraudulent activity or discrepancies in their information, and called on them to verify their details either at their local SASSA office or by logging into the website.

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