Events

Between 2014 and 2025, fraud perpetrated by government employees and contractors accounted for 75% of all reported social grant fraud, while fraud by beneficiaries accounted for just 17%. On average, only 54 beneficiaries per year were reported for fraud. In the context of approximately 28 million social grant recipients in 2025, this raises serious concerns about the disproportionate focus on policing beneficiaries. Our factsheet shows that the scale of resources dedicated to detecting beneficiary fraud is unjustifiable, particularly given the harmful consequences of these measures.

Public concern about fraud in South Africa’s social protection system has grown sharply in recent years. In response, the government has introduced automated and algorithmic measures, including stricter surveillance, biometric checks, and large-scale verification processes. However, these interventions often misidentify wrongdoing, place the burden of compliance on elderly, disabled, and low-income beneficiaries, and result in unfair exclusion.

In this webinar, the Institute for Economic Justice presented new research examining where fraud actually occurs in the social protection system. The discussion explored how current anti-fraud approaches disproportionately target beneficiaries while overlooking systemic sources of fraud, and how these measures are undermining the objectives of social protection.

The webinar featured contributions from Dr Caroline Khene (Institute of Development Studies), Abigail May (Open Secrets), Dr Kelle Howson (Institute for Economic Justice), and Siyanda Baduza (Institute for Economic Justice), who brought perspectives spanning social protection, governance, and digital systems. Together, they reflected on the political economy, design, and impacts of South Africa’s welfare fraud crackdown.

South Africa recently hosted the official launch of Removing International Obstacles to Sustainable Industrial Policy, a landmark G20 Report co-hosted by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ), the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC).

At a moment when countries are grappling with climate shocks, widening inequality, and unstable global supply chains, the message from the launch was clear: sustainable industrial policy is no longer optional; it is essential. The report offers concrete proposals to dismantle the international constraints that prevent countries, particularly in the Global South, from pursuing inclusive, resilient, and low-carbon development pathways.

This event marked an important contribution to South Africa’s G20 Presidency, reinforcing the call for a global economic system that places people and the planet at its centre.

Read the press statement. 

On 19 November, partners from the Institute for Economic Justice, the Center for Economic and Social Rights, the New Economics Foundation, Transforma-UNICAMP, and the Institute for Policy Studies hosted a dedicated session at the G20 Social Summit in Johannesburg to launch The G20 at a Crossroads: Lessons for an Equitable Global Economic Future.

Held at the Birchwood Hotel, the dialogue brought together researchers, policymakers, and civil society to reflect on the G20’s two-decade record and to explore what must change to build a global economy rooted in equity and shared prosperity. Contributors from the IEJ, including Neil and other staff, joined the discussion, supported by factsheets and policy briefs developed for the launch.

Read the full report: https://iej.org.za/the-g20-at-a-crossroads/

Partners from Oxfam South Africa, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Africa, the Institute for Economic Justice, ICRICT, and AIDC hosted a high-level dialogue on taxation and global inequality as a side event to the G20 Social Summit at the Birchwood Hotel in Johannesburg.

The session brought together leading voices to unpack the recommendations of the G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Inequality and to consider what these proposals mean for building a fairer global tax system.

The discussion aligned closely with South Africa’s G20 Presidency theme of solidarity, equality, and sustainability, highlighting the need for global tax rules that work for people and support shared prosperity.

Event details
Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg
9:00 – 11:00
Co-organised by Oxfam SA, FES SA, IEJ, ICRICT, and AIDC