EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL SECURITY REGISTRY SOCIAL SECURITY REGISTRY

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PROGRAMME OF DISCUSSION

1. Registry for Social Grant Files

• Past Registry Difficulties
• The Solution
• Current Registry System
• Present and Future Projects
• Conclusion

2. Management Information Systems (SDIMS)

• Past Difficulties in the Province
• The MIS Systems
• Management Information and Reports
• Conclusion

3. Contract Management 4. Review Process 5. Disability Assessment Unit 6. Fraud Initiatives - Inspectorate 7. Conclusion

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PAST REGISTRY DIFFICULTIES

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PAST REGISTRY DIFFICULTIES

• 1. Poor Registry Conditions
• 2. No Reliable Filing System
• 3. No Control over File Movement
• 4. Could not carry out Registry Completeness

Checks

• 5. Duplication of Files
• 6. No Check for File Contents
• 7. No Separation of Active and Inactive Files
• 8. Lost Files or Delays in Finding a File
• 9. Litigation and Fraud

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PAST REGISTRY DIFFICULTIES

• 1. Poor Registry Conditions
• 2. No Reliable Filing System
• 3. No Control over File Movement
• 4. Could not carry out Registry Completeness

Checks

• 5. Duplication of Files
• 6. No Check for File Contents
• 7. No Separation of Active and Inactive Files
• 8. Lost Files or Delays in Finding a File
• 9. Litigation and Fraud

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THE SOLUTION

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THE SOLUTION

Infrastructure and File Management System

• 1. Customized Software (EFMS)
• Barcode Scanning Facility
• Ease of Use
• Ownership of Files, Audit Logs
• Checks for Registry Completeness and

Missing Documentation

• 2. Centralized Filing Centre (CFC)
• 3. Bin-location Registry

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THE SOLUTION

The Process

Upliftment of 1.8 million Beneficiary Files Upliftment of 1.8 million Beneficiary Files Storage of Files At CFC Storage of Files At CFC Processing of 1.8 million Files Into EFMS Processing of 1.8 million Files Into EFMS Filing Archives, Actives, Special Projects Filing Archives, Actives, Special Projects

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THE SOLUTION

Transport

• 1. Transportation of Files from 24 Districts to CFC
• Files Packed in Boxes
• Control Sheets per District Office
• Truck Secured with Pre-numbered Seals

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THE SOLUTION

Storage at CFC

• Match Pre-numbered Seals to Control Sheets
• Storage of Boxes by District
• Demarcated Areas

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THE SOLUTION

Process

• 1. Reviewed File Contents – Critical Documents
• 2. ID No. Scanned
• Compared to SOCPEN
• Home Affairs Checkdigit
• 3. Attached Barcoded Label
• 4. Separation into Active & Archive Registry
• 5. Filed by Correct District

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THE SOLUTION

Process – Contd…

• 6. Identification of Specific Files for Project Teams
• Auditor General
• Class Action
• Fraud Investigations
• Regulation 11
• 7. Validation and Registry Filing
• Archives
• Actives

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THE SOLUTION

Systems Security

• 1. CFC linked to Offsite Facility
• User ID and Password to Database
• Firewalls
• 2. Data Security
• Offsite Server
• Daily Back-ups
• Disaster recovery plan

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THE SOLUTION

Project Outcomes

• Registry of Approximately 1.8 million Files

(1.4 million Active)

• Completeness Checks could be Generated
• Missing Documents could be Requested
• Security and Integrity of Files and Data
• Approximately 2 min to Find a File

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CURRENT REGISTRY SYSTEM

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CURRENT REGISTRY SYSTEM

Functionality

• 1. GUI, Web-based
• 2. Capture of Actives & Archives
• 3. Booking Files In/Out to Users - Ownership
• 4. Search facility by ID
• 5. Enquiries on Exceptions
• 6. Incomplete File Reports
• 7. Capture of Critical Documentation Function
• 8. Audit Logs

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CURRENT REGISTRY SYSTEM

Sustainability and Growth

• Departmental Operation since June 2003
• Deceased Staff Complement
• Enquiries, Appeals, Litigation at CFC
• Growth of 30% from May’03 to Sept’04
• AG Find Rate from 84% (’03) to 94% (’04)

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50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000

A l i w a l N

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t h B u t t e r w

• r

t h C a l a C

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• c

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• n

d

• n

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• F
• r

t B e a u f

• r

t G r a a f f R e i n e t G r a h a m s t

• w

n H u m a n s d

• r

p I d u t y w a L a d y F r e r e L i b

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n Q u m b u S t e r k s p r u i t S t u t t e r h e i m U m t a t a U m z i m k u l u

Total Files per Office

May-03 Sep-04

35 Type Active Inactive Grand Total 0-Old Age 414,435 313,104 727,539 1-War Veteran 474 1,607 2,081 3-Disability 324,521 227,069 551,590 4-Maintenance 60,755 60,755 5-Foster Child 27,537 11,587 39,124 6-Maintenance + Foster + Care Dependency 667 47 714 8-Grants in Aid 3,032 2,209 5,241 9-Care Dependency 18,931 13,125 32,056 C-Child Support 553,206 516,702 1,069,908

Grand Total

1,342,803 1,146,205 2,489,008

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PRESENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS

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PRESENT & FUTURE PROJECTS

• 1. Temporary Disability Review and Lapsing
• 2. National AG Forensic Audit
• 3. Registry Completeness – File Reconstruction
• 4. Critical Documentation
• 5. Housekeeping – Archives, District Change
• 6. Beneficiary Payments to Public Servants
• 7. Beneficiary Payments to GEPF
• 8. Systems-generated ID’s
• 9. Multiple Occurrences of Same Bank Account

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PRESENT & FUTURE PROJECTS

10.Payments where Status is not “Verified” 11.Disability Conversions to Old Age 12.Disabilities not of Prescribed Age 13.Lapsing of Temporary Disabilities 14.Updating of TDG Statuses (Blanks, etc.) 15.Deceased Status on Home Affairs 16.CDG’s 18 Years and Older 17.CDG Children Receiving DG’s 18.Invalid CDG Child ID’s

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PRESENT & FUTURE PROJECTS

• 19. Invalid CSG Child ID’s
• 20. Children’s Parent ID’s vs PERSAL
• 21. CSG Marital Status vs Home Affairs
• 22. CSG Children Older than 11
• 23. FCG’s Older than 21
• 24. Expired Court Orders on SOCPEN
• 25. Deceased War Veterans
• 26. Beneficiary too Young (WVG)

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CONCLUSION

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BENEFITS OF EFMS

Improved Efficiency Monitoring Tools and Accountability Increased Productivity Improved Turn-around Time on Queries Improved Audit-ability Management Information Available IMPROVED SERVICE DELIVERY

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MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (SDIMS)

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THE DEPARTMENT

Past Difficulties

Shortage of up-to-date information Inaccurate budget predictions No information for future planning purposes No Transversal systems integration/interaction Lack of management reports – reports not supplied timeously

Result: need for accurate planning based on sound and up-to-date business indicators

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MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Central Database Various reporting options Utilise existing Hardware and Networks Modular system Graphic User Interface Web-based System Barcode reading facilities

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MIS cont…

DATA WAREHOUSING DATA WAREHOUSING FRONT-END SYSTEMS (Community Based Services, Community Development, Social Security, Facilities, Procure-to-Pay, Registries) FRONT-END SYSTEMS (Community Based Services, Community Development, Social Security, Facilities, Procure-to-Pay, Registries) Encryption BACK-END SYSTEMS (SOCPEN, PERSAL, GEPF, Home Affairs, etc.) BACK-END SYSTEMS (SOCPEN, PERSAL, GEPF, Home Affairs, etc.)

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MIS cont…

Modules

Social Security – Workflow Monitoring Procure-to-Pay System Community Development – Community Project Management Registries Facilities

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MIS cont…

Social Security Workflow Monitoring

• Monitoring the Progress made on Applications
• Evaluate and Monitor Staff Work Performance
• Application Management – Scanned Owenrship of Applications

Capture of Applicant Details (Attestation) Verification Officers Verify Applicant Details Data capturers then Capture the Verified Grant (SOCPEN) Approval Officers Approve or Reject the Application

• The Social Security System is the precursor to the File Registry
• Form Management
• Enquiry Management

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MIS cont…

Attest

Beneficiary Info Captured on MIS

Attest

Beneficiary Info Captured on MIS

Approval

Beneficiary Approved on MIS & SOCPEN

Approval

Beneficiary Approved on MIS & SOCPEN

Capture

Beneficiary Info Captured on SOCPEN

Capture

Beneficiary Info Captured on SOCPEN

Verify

Beneficiary Info Verified

• n MIS

Verify

Beneficiary Info Verified

• n MIS

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MIS cont…

Further Developments

• Reconciliation of Transfer Payments
• Between Systems, Contractors, BAS
• “Closed Loop” of client payment reconciliation
• Means Test Validation
• On-Line
• Approval or Rejection
• Uploads to 3rd Party Contractors for Payment
• Every Evening
• Reduction in Turnaround Time

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MIS cont…

Benefits

Improved service delivery Improved efficiency, accountability and monitoring within the

department

Increased productivity and turn around time on queries and

applications

Single point of entry for all services provided by the

department

Paper reduction -> e-government policy Management information available at the touch of a button

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SYSTEMS SPATIAL MAPS

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EXAMPLES OF SYSTEMS REPORTS

56 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 140000 160000 Forms A t t e s t a t i

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A w a i t i n g V e r i f i c a t i

• n

A w a i t i n g D a t a C a p t u r e A w a i t i n g A p p r

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a l C

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p l e t e d

Provincial Form Exceptions Analysis

23-Dec-04 03-Jan-05 12-Jan-05 19-Jan-05 10-Feb-05 4-Mar-05

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TURNAROUND TIME

Area Apr 2004 May 2004 Jun 2004 Jul 2004 Aug 2004 Sep 2004 Oct 2004 Nov 2004 Dec 2004 Jan 2005 Feb 2005 Average N M Metro 21 44 66 49 62 67 87 79 106 117 91 72 Cacadu 83 101 96 150 114 59 100 Amatole 29 64 53 70 71 68 73 64 77 92 71 66 Chris Hani 29 64 53 70 83 73 78 68 73 90 73 69 OR Thambo 61 84 64 74 64 55 74 106 83 74 Alfred Nzo 84 64 74 58 56 79 107 83 76 Ukhahlamba 61 65 65 72 61 74 93 76 71 Average 32 68 75 75 92 96 72 75 75 100 77 80

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Days

A p r 2 4 M a y 2 4 J u n 2 4 J u l 2 4 A u g 2 4 S e p 2 4 O c t 2 4 N

• v

2 4 D e c 2 4 J a n 2 5 F e b 2 5

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Approved Disability Grants by Disease Category

146 149 335 312 41 99 149 37 1380 9 44 25 29

Early controlled chronic medical condition Early HIV infection Late stage HIV/AIDS Late/severe epilepsy, hypertension, diabetes or asthma Limb amputation/paralysis M ental retardation, dementia or psychotic disorder M inor ailment No significant medical condition diagnosed Other Other psychiatric ilnesses Significant hearing impairment Psychiatric illness Significant visual impairment

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MIS cont…

Strategic Advantages

Organised methods and processes for information sharing Statistical trends of key business drivers Sound platform for planning and budgeting on latest up

to date information

Management controls on KPI’s and exceptions Structure for actioning of controls Help desk for beneficiary enquiries through the website –

• n-line

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MIS cont…

Main objective of the MIS is to provide the Department with quality Management Information, from which the Department can accurately make sound business predictions, and manage effectively…. Leading to Improved Service Delivery

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CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

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HELPDESKS

• The Concept of helpdesk is born out of inconvenience caused to

beneficiaries at paypoints, these include rendering of limited services resulting into referrals of beneficiaries to other points of services.

• The Helpdesk constitute an extension of services rendered at pay point,

by availing offices/desk services in addition to the payment services rendered at pay point.

• The helpdesk has to be manned by not less than two officials, attending

and recording beneficiary queries throughout the duration of payment.

• BENEN information is utilized for all system related problems to give

immediate advice and answers to beneficiaries instead of referring them to the nearest offices

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HELPDESK CONTINUES

Check lists are also utilized to check both the

conditions of the pay point and compliance to SLA by the service providers.

Complete and collate notes for weekly

reports.

Report incidents that warrant urgent

response.

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LARGE AMOUNTS

All grant amounts with a cash value of R4000.00 or more are

regarded as large amounts.

These amounts have to be verified before payment to prevent

fraud.

A list is generated before payments for distribution to relevant

• ffices for quick verification.

Feedback is given to CPS within few days of receipt of these lists

for stop payment purposes and unblocking of payments.

No official (CPS & DOSD) is allowed to touch these amounts

during payments.

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ITERNERARIES

All beneficiaries are paid at paypoints registered on SOCPEN. An itinerary is developed each month to ensure proper allocation

• f resources and scheduling of payment days inline with

SOCPEN cut-off dates.

Standard procedure is set for compliance by all districts All beneficiaries are paid 30 days after their previous payment. When paypoint payment days are to be shifted for some reasons,

this should not exceed five days to avoid inconvenience to beneficiaries

Rural paypoints should be paid earlier in the pay-cycle than the

urban pay-points to avoid migration to urban paypoints.

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ITERNERARY CONTINUES

Paypoints must Geographically clustered in order to make the

process of traveling from one paypoint to another easy and practical

The number of beneficiaries paid must be evenly spread over the

17 day pay cycle. A maximum of 1000 beneficiaries is highly recommended where practically possible.

Where paypoints a larger staggering by grant type is applied,

prioritizing DG, AO, WV and the rest.

Where beneficiaries want to be transferred to another paypoint

formal application must be made to the department.

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ITERNERARY CONTINUES

Itinerary must be re-assessed if there are paypoints that are paid

after 16h30 for three consecutive months.

The number of paypoints paid a day should not exceed six a day. Rescheduling of payment days must only be approved by the

Director of Social Security.

SOCPEN database will be updated with the CPS payment

history to improve the reliability of beneficiary information on SOCPEN.

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PAYPOINT CREATION PROCEDURE

As the number of beneficiaries increase the need for more

paypoints also increases.

Some paypoints were never registered on SOCPEN but they are

used for grant payments.

For the creation of a new paypoint an application is made

through the district office with a list of beneficiaries intending to be paid at that paypoint. Criteria of 100 beneficiaries and 5km radius distance from the closest paypoints.

After registering a new paypoint code, transfers are effected and

the itinerary is updated accordingly. Before the actual payments.

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ROLE OF MONITORS

The DOSD monitors are the liaison officers between the decision

making process and payment activities at paypoints.

They are deployed on sample basis targeted problematic areas. The information they collect is forwarded to the CMC

management for immediate decisions and interventions where

• necessary. Some of the information is submitted for further

investigation.

The main focus of the paypoint monitoring is to ensure

adherence to the Service Level Agreement.

Reporting is controlled by standard forms which help to provide

professionalism in reporting.

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ROLE OF MONITORS CONTINUE

Monitors are responsible for quick responses during crisis at

paypoints, e.g. robberies, deaths and special investigations.

The play administrative role between helpdesks officials and the

CMC

They further attend Area Forum meetings for the purposes of

• bserving proceedings within this meeting inline with the area

forum responsibility.

Give feedback on paypoint incidence within specific areas. All monitors are based in East London but continuously deployed

to various districts for the full duration of the payment cycle.

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AREA FORUMS

In terms of the SLA the outsourced payment of grants is jointly

managed at Provincial and District level,through the Provincial Steering committee and Area Forum respectively

The Area Forum is responsible for managing the day to day

activities of the outsourced payments of grants, jointly by the area offices of CPS and DOSD.

It is necessary that these forums are utilized optimal to deal with

challenges of cash payments that include communication with communities, beneficiaries and the Provincial Steering Committee.

A uniform Agenda has been developed for these meeting for the

purposes of uniform an focused discussions.

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PROJECT CHAMPION PAYMENTS & BUDGET MONITORING CONTRACT S AND SLA’s

DATA ANALYSIS

MONITORING & LOGISTICS INFRASTRUCTUR E DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNITY LIAISON

PROJECT MANAGER LEGAL UNIT

MONITORING & EVALUATION

SECR

CMC STRUCTURE

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THE OUTSOURCED PAYMENT FUNCTION

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Overview of the Payment Function

SOCPEN generates pay file & submits to SP’s for preparation for the pay cycle Itinerary developed between Department and SP and beneficiaries informed (ACB deposits on 1st day of month) Service Provider makes payments and performs enrolment of new beneficiaries (Beneficiaries withdraw from ATM’s) Payment history submitted to department to update SOCPEN (sporadic)

Problem being experienced is flocking/migration of beneficiaries to cash pay-points earlier in the pay cycle

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SP Responsibilities from the SLA

Bulk enrolment of beneficiaries & on-going enrolments of new beneficiaries (including procurators but excluding ACB beneficiaries) Payment hours between 8am and 4pm (weekdays excluding public holidays). Pay cash and issue receipt. Rescheduling and late payments to be kept to a minimum. Dissemination of information to beneficiaries (via message field printed on the receipt) Provide statistics, management reports (including fraudulent activities) and reconcile payments against the original SOCPEN pay file Contribution to the community and pay-point development funds Pre-fund payments and invoice weekly

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Cash Payment by Service Providers

Pay +-850,000 beneficiaries at +-2,700 pay-points Average of 92-96% of beneficiaries are paid before 4pm as per SLA (May 2004 statistics) Job creation at a local level (Department & Service Providers) Heightened awareness of fraud Cash delivered to the beneficiary at a point within 5km

• f their home

More reliable data which will be updated to SOCPEN Biometric data collection & confirmation of data for each payment Advanced technology and smartcard payment systems for alternatives to cash

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Payment by “self assist” ATM’s (Banks)

Pay +-270,000 beneficiaries Increased roll

• ut of ATM’s

across the Province to all citizens, especially previously disadvantaged areas Alternative competition to cash service providers, especially in urban areas Access to other banking facilities such as debit orders, funeral & insurance policies (potentially good) and loan deductions (potentially bad) Beneficiary can determine withdrawal patterns (time, day, number of withdrawals) based on limitations such as available ATM’s Lower service fee for reduced service (such as limited client contact); no direct comparison to cash payment service providers

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Other Payment Alternatives

Post Office with their new Post Bank system could be a new player in the market (the “society” option because it would make post offices more viable in more remote areas) Province Cheque (retro option) +-60,000 beneficiaries in Qumbu & Engcobo still to be transferred Merchandise stores that sell goods and charge directly onto the smartcard and/or pay cash out based on the balance on the smartcard (the future option because it will migrate beneficiaries away from cash and to a debit card system being rolled out in retail

• utlets, but will require an

education process)

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THE GRANTS REVIEW PROCESS

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FORENSIC AUDIT

The National Department and Auditor General full

forensic audit of all Disability files where their activity status had changed during the period from June 2001 to November 2003.

The impact: > 165,000 Disability files, as well as

approximately 15,000 files of various other grant types were extracted from the registry, and certain critical information was captured in order to attempt to identify trends in the files.

At the same time, the Department initiated a data

mining exercise into the SOCPEN snapshots, specifically aimed at identifying trends where exceptions occurred with the aim to eliminate those grants from the payment cycle.

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FORENSIC AUDIT

The types of anomalies that have been investigated

include (but not limited to):

Missing data in critical fields (e.g. ID’s, dates of birth, etc.). Beneficiaries in receipt of a grant where that beneficiary is

not of the prescribed age.

Beneficiaries in receipt of a Temporary Disability Grant

where that grant has expired on the system.

Beneficiaries in receipt of a Child Support Grant where that

beneficiary is not the child’s parent or guardian.

Analysis of beneficiaries against the PERSAL, GEPF, and

Municipal Employees databases.

Analysis of beneficiaries against Home Affairs for deceased

status.

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DISABILITY GRANT NOTIFICATION & REVIEW

• The Department embarked on a process aimed at removing certain TDGs.
• Implementation of certain control measures to ensure that such TDG’s are terminated after

due notification.

• Analysis of SOCPEN to identify all TDG’s where their grants have expired.
• Notification of those beneficiaries (either by registered letter, or in person at the Pay

Points).

• Analysis of representations made by the beneficiaries by a Review Unit into categories.
• Identification of all affected beneficiaries who proceeded to reapply for a Disability Grant.
• Capture of the outcome of all beneficiaries who made representations by the categories of
• status. This formed the basis of which beneficiaries were to be lapsed, and which to be re-

instated.

• Consultation with National on the electronic lapsing of beneficiaries, and the supply of an

electronic list of such beneficiaries to SITA.

• Analysis of the current activity status of the beneficiaries to be lapsed against the “live”

SOCPEN database prior to lapsing electronically.

• Notification of lapsed status to all affected beneficiaries.
• Re-instatement of lapsed beneficiaries where that beneficiary had re-applied for a

Disability Grant.

• Projections of future lapsing for months until March 2005 – ongoing monthly lapse.
• Modification of the MIS module to cater for the identification and validation of all TDG’s for

future lapsing.

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Lapse Category

• No. Lapsed

Monthly Savings TDG Data Cleanse Oct 04 85168 R 62,790,234.33 TDG Ongoing Nov 04 3126 R 2,302,358.18 TDG Ongoing Dec 04 3276 R 2,412,718.88 Old Age Cleanse Dec 04 3241 R 2,398,140.00 Care Dependency Cleanse Dec 04 582 R 430,680.00 Foster Care Cleanse Dec 04 27 R 14,310.00 TDG Ongoing Jan 05 3683 R 2,725,420.00 TDG Ongoing Feb 05 3302 R 2,433,961.17 Pre-June 04 TDG - Mar 05 726 R 535,749.95 TDG Ongoing Mar 05 1772 R 1,376,712.42 Month of Savings Monthly Savings Compounded Savings November 2004 R 62,790,234.33 R 62,790,234.33 December 2004 R 65,092,592.51 R 127,882,826.84 January 2005 R 70,348,441.39 R 198,231,268.23 February 2005 R 73,073,861.39 R 271,305,129.62 March 2005 R 76,043,572.51 R 347,348,702.13 April 2005 R 77,420,284.93 R 424,768,987.06

REVIEW STATISTICS

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DISABILITY ASSESSMENT UNIT

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DISABILITY ASSESSMENT UNIT

Formation of Disability Assessment Tool, and

Establishment of Appeals Process.

Providing Medical Opinion on Litigation, Appeals, and

Class Action cases.

Continual auditing of Assessment Reports. Providing recommendations on outcomes of Disability and

Care Dependency applications.

Director Appointed. 7 District Medical Officers. 24 Area Administrators.

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FRAUD INITIATIVES & THE INSPECTORATE

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FRAUD & INSPECTORATE

• Numerous sources of information have made it possible for the Inspectorate to

investigate cases of fraud and corruption: real financial savings.

• Investigations that have and are currently in progress include:
• SOCPEN/PERSAL Investigations.
• The MIS and SOCPEN interfaces with PERSAL prevent Government employees

from applying for a grant. However, these interfaces are recent, and prior to this such employees have been defrauding the system. The Inspectorate now furthermore has direct access to PERSAL.

• To date, 2,015 cases have been identified with a Fraud value of R 23,789,089. Many

such officials have been arrested, with 400 cases investigated by the DSO and JACTT.

• Approximately 280 Departmental hearings have been completed.
• The savings realized to date amounts to R 9,638,400 per annum, whilst 57 officials

have voluntarily submitted recoveries to the value of R 110,922.

• SOCPEN/GEPF Investigations.
• Investigations reveal that 19,500 such cases exist, of which 8,000 investigations have

been completed.

• The Inspectorate is currently removing approximately 400 such cases per week from

SOCPEN (for 2005).

• The total savings amounts to approximately R 25,455,924 per annum.

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FRAUD & INSPECTORATE

• Deceased Children Investigations.
• The Inspectorate have identified 1,595 instances of deceased children on SOCPEN

with a Fraud value of R 1,542,202.

• All such cases have been removed, with a savings of R 3,600,000 per annum.
• To date, 621 investigations have been concluded, whilst R 20,171 has been

recovered from 32 beneficiaries.

• Municipal Officials Investigations.
• The Inspectorate have uncovered 98 cases where Municipal employees are in

receipt of a grant illegally with a Fraud value of R 1,755,242.

• All have been investigated, with 20 arrests to date.
• The total savings on this initiative is R 557,556 per annum.
• Pension Fraud and Theft Investigations.
• Most investigations date to pension cash voucher Fraud between 1994 and 1996,

and pension cheques between 1997 and 2001.

• 75 Departmental officials were dismissed, most of whom received prison sentences.

13 Private persons were also involved.

• The amount of Fraud involved is approximately R20,000,000, of which R797,000 has

been recovered through asset forfeiture. This could increase with further guilty verdicts.

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FRAUD & INSPECTORATE

• Dormant Bank Accounts.
• The Inspectorate has ascertained that approximately R30,000,000 is pending in

dormant bank accounts where such beneficiaries are deceased.

• In order for those funds to be recovered, the banks require Treasury to complete

indemnities (handed over in October 2004), as well as valid death certificates from Home Affairs (negotiations in progress).

• Inspectorate Fraud Register.
• Created during May 2004, this register caters for all cases identified as fraud and

corruption for both Departmental and criminal purposes.

• Between May 2004 and February 2005, 2,775 instances have been registered, of

which 939 have been referred to agencies for criminal proceedings.

• Indemnity Applications.
• A committee has been established comprising Inspectorate and Legal Section
• fficials.
• This committee makes recommendations relating to the success of such indemnity

applications.

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FRAUD & PROJECT SSG

• The unreasonably high annual intake rate of 100% on Disability grant

applications in the Eastern Cape resulted in cost pressures to the extent that the Department was predicting a deficit of approximately R 1.2 billion for the fiscal year.

• Applications in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan District were a major

concern.

• Consequently, the Department met with the Directorate of Special

Operations (Scorpions) on 9th July 2004, where the parties agreed to work together to eradicate the fraudulent activities affecting Social Assistance benefits.

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FRAUD & PROJECT SSG

• Focus areas include:
• Fraudulent applications to the High Courts by Attorneys.
• Investigations confirm that there is unethical conduct in the form of touting by

certain attorneys.

• These attorneys do not have personal consultations with their "clients“.
• People handing over their ID’s were found to be unaware that the attorneys

would be taking their cases to court – most assumed that the touts were officials from the Department who would assist them with their grant applications.

• Certain attorneys have even billed the Department on more than one occasion

for the same matter.

• Four attorneys have been identified behind this scheme, and investigations are at

a sensitive stage presently.

• Fraud committed by Doctors.
• Two Doctors in the Queenstown area have been identified who allegedly

recommend Disability grants where the applicants are not sick or disabled.

• An organizer in the Lady Frere area has been identified where this person

supplies the Doctors with such applicants.

• This scam has been filed with the Public Prosecutor for a decision, with arrests

pending.

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FRAUD & PROJECT SSG

• Unscrupulous money lenders in the Metro.
• A notorious syndicate consisting of eight women and one man has been

unearthed in the Metro area known as the Untouchables.

• These individuals defraud the Department by arranging Disability grants for

residents who do not qualify for such assistance.

• A fee is paid by the beneficiaries in the form of a lump sum payment, and

thereafter by means of a loan at 100% per month (the beneficiary pays for the rest of his/her life).

• Two Doctors appear to be colluding with this syndicate (handwriting

analyses are pending). In addition, the Team has identified Departmental

• fficials and nurses from the Department of Health who are issuing

fraudulent medical certificates as well as fake Tuberculosis clinic cards to prospective beneficiaries.

• The members of the Untouchables were arrested in November 2004, and

items were seized by the Team for court purposes. Information is still being gathered to strengthen the case further.

• Government and Municipal employees fraudulently receiving Social grants.
• A significant number of arrests have been effected in this regard, with

further investigations in progress.

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CONCLUSION

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CONCLUSION

• The Department in the Eastern Cape Province has initiated a multi-

phased approach to rid the system of fraud, theft, and instances of beneficiaries receiving payment where their grants have expired according to the Act.

• This initiative by the Province is both pro-active as well as retro-active

due to the following factors:

The implementation of the MIS with interfaces to PERSAL, GEPF,

and Municipal Employee databases.

The reporting of application approval rates that appear above the

norm.

Trends of abnormal Disability grant approval rates for certain

disease categories.

The implementation of a Task Team to stamp out Fraud and

Corruption in conjunction with the Scorpions.

The implementation of the Review Unit and MIS enhancements to

lapse expired grant payments as well as perform Life Certification and Review.

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CONCLUSION

• The Forensic Audit to highlight and pinpoint exception areas, combined with

a SOCPEN data cleanse and data mining exercise.

• The Inspectorate who investigates all instances of fraud identified in the

systems.

• These activities combined have resulted in a savings to the

Department exceeding R 400 million for the year to date.

• Furthermore, the investigations performed allow the Department to be

in a position to improve and enhance the systems to prevent abuse, fraud, and corruption from occurring in future.

• The Department is still faced with the challenges of stamping out these

activities, which are compounded by the lack of suitable supervision at the Service Offices, capacity shortcomings, insufficient staff vetting, and lack of public cooperation. However, by ensuring that these and other initiatives are sustainable into the future, the Department will continue with its strategy to fight crime and improve the quality of service to the public.