Two Post Office tellers arrested for stealing R4.1m in SASSA money
Two former tellers at the Post Office have been arrested for allegedly stealing R4.1 million meant for SASSA grant beneficiaries.
Two former tellers at the South African Post Office (SAPO) in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, were arrested for allegedly stealing R4.1 million that was meant for SASSA grant beneficiaries.
Joint Operation Leads to Arrest of Former Post Office Tellers
The two suspects, aged 32 and 45, were nabbed in a joint operation between the Hawks, post office and National Prosecution Authority (NPA) on 29 June.
“The two were former employees of the South African Post Office based at Butterworth who worked as tellers. It is reported that both suspects were responsible for making South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) payments at Cash Pay Point,” said Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana.
The suspects worked together between September 2020 and April 2022, flouted the SASSA grant payment procedure and diverted cash into their pockets. They allegedly took over R4.1 million from the social security agency.
Opposition Party Calls for Secure and Efficient Grant Payment System
The Democratic Alliance (DA) – the official opposition – said the arrests raise concerns about the widespread nature of theft within the post office system across South Africa, and that while the arrests are commendable, there is an urgent need to prevent crimes of this sort from happening in the first place.
The party’s Shadow Minister for Communications, Natasha Mazzone, said the theft trend is made worse by worse by the closure of over 300 post offices in the past three years, and lamented that post offices that remain open are mostly dysfunctional and in a state of disrepair.
“Consequently, SASSA recipients are burdened with the task of travelling long distances to collect their much-needed monthly allowances, spending a significant portion of their funds on transportation,” said Mazzone.
The DA calls for establishing a “secure and fraud-free” system for SASSA grant payments that quickly gets the money to beneficiaries.
“The current state of the Post Office, which remains partially liquidated with no clear path to recovery, necessitates swift action to alleviate the burden faced by SASSA beneficiaries,” said the MP.
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