Does the SASSA algorithm discriminate against beneficiaries?

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) algorithm used to verify beneficiary income has had its day in front of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein. The matter pertains to SASSA’s automated bank-verification system that sees no difference between income, family contribution or stokvel payouts …

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Better understanding of the SASSA algorithm is part of the same appeal we’ve reported on extensively. This originates from the January 2025 Gauteng High Court ruling that found key parts of SASSA SRD regulations were unconstitutional. Last month, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that the National Treasury, “simply cannot afford to do more”, for the country’s poor.

SASSA ALGORITHM ON TRIAL

Fascinatingly, the Global Center on Governance (GCG) for AI, represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, joined the argument. It argued to the SCA that the fully automated SASSA algorithm represents not only a funding problem, but a constitutional problem. The GCG explains that the current SASSA system treats any deposit into an applicant’s bank account as financial means.

As such, the SASSA algorithm has no in-built mechanism to distinguish between a salary, loan from a relative, stokvel contribution, or money held on someone else’s behalf, for example. It argues, in a country where large numbers of people rely on informal and shared financial networks rather than formal employment, it is a blunt and ineffective instrument …

RIGHT TO SOCIAL SECURITY

A loan, gift or stokvel payout should not trigger the SASSA algorithm against beneficiaries, argues the GCG. Image: File

Furthermore, the submission argues that all South Africans have constitutional rights to social security, equality and dignity. There are also possibly some knock-on effects for Section 71 of the automated handling of personal identify data through the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

Meanwhile, government’s counsel defended the online system on practical grounds. It argued it’s how the agency is able to process around 15- to 18-million applicants a month. This is a volume no human-staffed system could realistically replicate. Likewise, government says it would need an additional R93 billion to account for all 18 million monthly applicants.

WHEN WILL THE SCA RULE?

Accordingly, the SCA has reserved judgment on the state’s appeal after hearing arguments on 25 August 2026. And no specific date has been announced for the final ruling yet. Plus, further appeals are likely if the ruling does not go the state’s way. However, a SASSA algorithm that can’t tell a stokvel payout from a loan, or a salary risks wrongfully excluding the exact people the SASSA grant was built for in the first place.

But what do you think? Do you think the SASSA algorithm discriminates against certain beneficiaries? Do you have any first-hand experience of this yourself? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below …

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