SASSA hit by fake school uniform news

14 January 2020

A fake news message is circulating on WhatsApp claiming that SASSA offers learners free school uniforms and stationery. SASSA can confirm that this message is fake news and wishes to distance itself from it. It is disturbing that some insensitive people find time to manufacture such fake news and play with the emotions of the needy.

This fake news coincides with the reopening of schools and has the potential of sending desperate parents to SASSA offices instead of taking their children to school. The timing itself shows malicious intent and builds mistrust between SASSA and the public.

The message originates from a January 2018 tweet from a Themba Rumbu Twitter account which is now circulating on WhatsApp to create anxiety and confuse social grant beneficiaries. This impacts on service delivery because SASSA officials have to spend time turning away needy people requesting school uniforms instead of officials focusing on delivering services. The sad thing is that poor people have to incur unnecessary transport costs to get to SASSA offices only to be turned away.

Social grant beneficiaries are requested to be wary of social media messages which sound too good to be true. It is better to call the SASSA toll-free line on 0800 60 10 11 to confirm the authenticity of a message from SASSA if a grant beneficiary is not sure. Recipients of this message are requested to delete it immediately and not to distribute it.

Issued by Kgomoco Diseko, SASSA National Spokesperson, 14 January 2020