Why Sassa is reviewing 352 000 grants using data matching

South Africa's social security agency is systematically re-examining hundreds of thousands of welfare grants through algorithmic data matching, raising urgent questions about whether vulnerable citizens will lose their lifelines based on automated systems that may contain errors or bias. The review of 352,000 cases represents one of the continent's largest automated welfare audits, yet critics warn that beneficiaries could be stripped of payments without adequate human oversight or appeal mechanisms. What SASSA frames as fraud prevention, civil rights groups fear could become a backdoor way to shrink the welfare rolls and punish the poorest for administrative gaps in government record-keeping.

explain.co.za·Aug 25