“People Sitting Without Food”: Gent Questions SASSA Over 169,000 Suspended Grants

• SASSA flagged 169,000 beneficiaries for suspension after they failed to respond to verification notices sent via SMS
• The Pensioners of South Africa page raised urgent questions about whether grant recipients even had airtime to respond
• Commenters pointed out that many elderly South Africans live in areas with no signal or do not own cellphones

A South African advocacy page is demanding answers from SASSA after the agency suspended grants for 169,000 beneficiaries who failed to respond to SMS verification notices.

The video, posted on 30 September 2026 by the Pensioners of South Africa page, shows the creator recording from his car and speaking directly into the camera. He questioned whether SASSA had thought through what it was asking of people who are too poor to afford airtime.

"169,000 people are not getting grants. Are you stopping people's grants because they could not respond to an SMS?" he said. "You need to consider food, electricity, water, rent. These people are sitting without food, kids going hungry."

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He also raised concern about what happens to the money that is no longer being paid out, asking how South Africans can be certain it is being returned to the correct place and not simply removed from circulation with no accountability.

Why SASSA stopped the grants

According to reports, SASSA flagged the 169,000 beneficiaries as part of a broader review of over 350,000 grants in the 2026/27 financial year. The suspension reasons include recipients failing to appear for mandatory reviews, outdated contact details, unverifiable addresses, and data mismatches flagged through credit bureau and bank statement checks.

Affected beneficiaries are urged not to panic. A suspension is not a permanent cancellation. Those affected can visit their nearest SASSA office with a valid ID and supporting documents such as bank statements, updated contact details or proof of income to challenge the suspension and have payments reinstated if they still qualify.

See the full clip below:

Mzansi reacts to the SASSA grant suspensions

South Africans in the comments section on the Facebook page were overwhelmingly frustrated:

@Christolene Busch said:

"Some pensioners don't have cellphones. How can they send SMSes?"

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@Jacqueline Bailey asked:

"But if they don't have your phone number, how do they send you a message?"

@Maggel Bell noted:

"Some people even stayed on farms or villages and have no signal."

@Sharon Gabriels suggested:

"Why can't they call them? If they don't get a reply, they sit twiddling their thumbs most days anyway."

@Sybil Mckenna added:

"Why can't they send letters by post? They have their addresses, though."

@Beryl Taylor said:

"I'm struggling to understand as well. Boggles the mind."

@Beatrice O'Leary asked:

"How many pensioners can afford data, wifi and WhatsApp?"

@Patrick Maloka called for action:

"We need to take these issues in alleviating the plight of senior citizens to the Public Protector's Office."

More on SASSA grants and pensioners in SA

• Briefly News recently reported on Johannesburg pensioners who will keep their property rates rebates after the City announced what they no longer need to submit.
• On the 15th of September, Briefly News looked at a quiet cost shrinking the foreign pensions of South African retirees and how much it could add up to each year.
• A Mpumalanga hairdresser who won a multimillion-rand RAF payout after the fund challenged her claim over missing proof of income.

Source: Briefly News