‘Ghost children’ cause delay to government grants payouts

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WITH millions of government grant beneficiaries frustrated over payment delays, a local South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) representative blamed fraud as a major cause for the delays.

Speaking during the Ward 16 Service Day event in eSikhaleni on Thursday, Bheki Mkhwanazi from the eSikhaleni office said residents previously registered bogus recipients and now it’s causing problems within the organisation.

‘Many children who don’t exist made it into the system and now all those cases are under investigation. Some took other people’s children and registered them as their own. ‘When the rightful parents decide to register the child, the system picks up fingerprints and then rejects the application,’ said Mkhwanazi.

‘Not only does it cause problems for the parents, but all cases get questioned and have to be investigated, which takes a long time.’

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Mkhwanazi said some residents don’t update their details and other give wrong information.

‘Ghost children (not existing recipients) waste government funds because as officials we have to search for them and ensure they are real people.

‘When we don’t have the right contact details, it becomes difficult to reach them. Our offices must always be in communication with grant recipients, but it becomes difficult when the information is wrong,’ he said.

Mkhwanazi also gave residents valuable information on various grants and explained who qualifies for them and how they can apply.