By Mapaballo Borotho

- Some Soweto residents did not receive their SASSA grants due to the agency’s ongoing grant review process.
- SASSA says the reviews are aimed at ensuring that only qualifying beneficiaries continue to receive social assistance.
- Grants may be temporarily suspended if beneficiaries fail to respond to review requests, but payments can resume once eligibility is confirmed.
Some residents in Soweto have been left in limbo following the non-payment of their monthly SASSA social grants.
The non-payment has raised many questions and left some beneficiaries unable to meet their monthly financial obligations.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) says most of these cases are linked to the ongoing social grant review process.
The process is aimed at ensuring that social assistance continues to reach qualifying beneficiaries, amid concerns that some people who do not meet the requirements may be receiving social grants.
“The review process is not punitive. It is a legal mechanism to verify that beneficiaries continue to meet the qualifying criteria for the grants they receive.
Importantly, grants are not automatically cancelled. Every beneficiary selected for review is formally notified and given a reasonable opportunity to present themselves, confirm their circumstances, and submit supporting information before any decision is made,” said SASSA spokesperson Lungelo Mkamba.
In cases where discrepancies are identified, beneficiaries are contacted and invited to engage with the agency before any action is taken.
If a beneficiary fails to respond within the stipulated timeframes, a grant may be temporarily suspended.
However, once the review process is completed and eligibility is confirmed, the grant is reinstated and payments resume.
Beneficiaries are also required by law to inform SASSA of any changes in their financial, personal, medical or marital circumstances that may affect their eligibility for social assistance.
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