ANA reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA) said on Wednesday it was concerned that employees at the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) could be scapegoats for unscrupulous activities.  

This was said after a video showing alleged criminals in possession of Sassa cards and money went viral on social media.  The criminals were seen boasting as they counted hundreds of Sassa cards they claimed to have used with the assistance of Sassa workers to fraudulently access social grant funds.  The PSA, which represents the majority of employees at Sassa, said this had been allowed because of an insecure interface system used by the grants agency to process millions of transactions.  According to PSA general manager Ivan Fredericks, the system has been proven to be vulnerable to fraudsters.  He pointed out:  "Incidents have been reported where the system has been accessed in the late hours and on weekends when Sassa offices are closed and fraudulent applications would be processed on the system using Sassa employees' credentials.  This has resulted in employees being charged with misconduct and some even being dismissed." A Sassa spokesperson said the viral video was under investigation.  The PSA insisted on the establishment of a task team to investigate the root cause of questionable transactions.  It also urged intervention by the minister of social development “to ensure that loyal employees do not become innocent victims of fraudulent transactions that target and exploit the deficiencies of the system."

• Read the full original of the report on the above at Independent News

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