‘SASSA should be privatised,’ argues frustrated pensioner
One elderly pensioner believes SASSA should be privatised to help resolve systemic issues with biometric verification and grant reviews …
Black News 
An elderly pensioner says SASSA should be privatised, as she’s at her wit’s end with repeated trips to verify her grant. The woman in question, known only as Sonel in her correspondence, has received an Old-Age Grant for three years. Then, all of a sudden, she had her grant withhold, with no notification by the agency.
“I have been trying to resolve the matter through SASSA all month (August 2026). Officials could not capture my fingerprints through their biometric system first time. I then visited Shelly Clinic, KZN, to try again. I waited for seven hours, only for biometric verification to fail once again,” she explained.
SASSA SHOULD BE PRIVATISED, ARGUES PENSIONER
Sonel was then sent on a wild goose chase by the South African Social Security Agency to rectify matters herself. She was told to go to Home Affairs in Port Shepstone to obtain HANIS verification. This report is an official identity confirmation generated by matching a person’s biometric data (fingerprints or facial recognition) against Home Affairs’ National Identification System (HANIS) database.
“I contacted Home Affairs and the earliest appointment is only in September 2026. So, I am stuck without any grant income for at least two months. However, what is unacceptable is that I’ve cooperated with every process SASSA has. Their biometric system failed me, yet I must bear the financial/practical consequences. This is why SASSA should be privatised, because pensioners deserve dignity and respect,” Sonel concluded.
LET BANKS HANDLE THE ADMINISTRATION
Let’s assume SASSA should be privatised, how would it work exactly? Funnelling government money to banks directly to handle grant payments might sound strong on paper. However, you’re thinking of the service you get from a good bank. And South Africa’s history with third-party disbursement systems is not the best …
Between 2012 and 2018, SASSA outsourced the entire disbursement function to Cash Paymaster Services (CPS). It was an unmitigated disaster! The Constitutional Court declared the CPS contract unlawful after a rival bidder challenged the tender process. CPS received an irregular R316-million payment from SASSA in 2014, one it still hasn’t repaid in full. And now with the company insolvent, recovery of the final R81 million looks unlikely.
Plus, if you still think SASSA should be privatised, remember this: CPS openly shared beneficiaries’ banking data to related companies to sell financial products to them directly. Watchdogs would later call it straightforward profiteering off the backs of the poor and elderly. And SASSA’s current relationship with state-owned entity, Postbank, isn’t exactly frictionless either. Postbank has threatened SASSA with legal action over roughly R120 million in unpaid service fees racked up since October 2025. And the issue of Gold to Black card swaps is still to be resolved.
But what do you think? Have you had similar experiences to Sonel? And do you believe SASSA should be privatised? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below …
