While some South Africans are celebrating receiving about R350 to which they are not entitled, the government is counting a loss of R11 million as a result.
According to the South African Social Security Agency, 31,955 people improperly benefitted from the Covid-19 social relief of distress (SRD) grant at a cost of R11 million to the state.
This much was revealed by Dianne Dunkerley, the SASSA executive for grant administration during an appearance before the parliamentary select committee on health and social services.
The discovery that people who were not entitled to the grant had either received it or gotten more than they were entitled to, emerged following the release of the auditor-general’s report.
The SASSA has since made it clear that it does not tolerate any attempt to access the grant by people who are not qualified for it, insisting serious action would be taken against those who disobey its directive.
Introduced in March last year, the SRD grant was meant to aid citizens seriously affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown measures it spawned in South Africa. The grant ran until April this year. Reintroduced three months monthly, in July, the grant will be paid until March 2022.
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