Dlamini's 'smaller nyana skeletons' shows she 'cannot serve in any position in government'‚ say opposition

In the wake of Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini's appearance before Parliament's public accounts committee‚ opposition parties have increased their calls for her removal over the social grants debacle.

On Friday The Congress of the People (Cope) said they planned to lay charges against Dlamini.

"Dlamini must take responsibility for her actions‚ do the right thing and go. After all‚ she was never ever suitable for the position from the beginning. All Dlamini has done since she’s been in office proved she cannot run it. And now her ‘smaller nyana’ skeleton she once spoke about is coming out‚" the party said in a statement.

• Gordhan accepts invitation to brief parliament on social grants crisisFinance Minister Pravin Gordhan has confirmed that he will brief parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on the country’s social grants crisis. 

Also on Friday‚ the Democratic Alliance handed over a memorandum to her department‚ demanding Dlamini's immediate resignation for her poor handling to the social grants issue.

In a statement issued after a march to the department's offices in Pretoria‚ party leader Mmusi Maimane said: "She is incompetent and cannot serve in any position in government."

The party also demanded Dlamini "appear before a Parliamentary inquiry to explain her actions and that of her department".

• 'Only Zuma can decide on Dlamini's axing'Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has distanced himself from calls for embattled Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini to be axed over the social grants debacle. 

On Tuesday Dlamini was called before parliament's public accounts committee (Scopa) where she was asked about the progress her department had made in negotiating an interim contract with Cash Pay Masters (CPS)‚ the company contracted to pay social grants until March 31.

Dlamini and officials from her department said negotiation were ongoing and there was no deal in place.

She was also pushed to step down by some opposition members during the Scopa sitting.

• Dlamini sparks angry war of words in Western Cape legislatureBathabile Dlamini was the target of a full-scale roasting by senior Western Cape DA politicians on Thursday for her handling of the social grants debacle. 

The contract between CPS and the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) is due to expire at the end of March and the department does not have in-house capacity to administer the grants.

To compound issues further‚ the existing contract with CPS has been ruled invalid by the Constitutional Court because of irregularities in the tender process.

The 2014 Constitutional Court ruling of invalidity was suspended to allow Sassa a chance to remedy the situation by advertising a new tender.

• Only the president can remove Dlamini: RamaphosaDeputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will not support calls for the removal of embattled social development minister Bathabile Dlamini‚ saying only President Zuma was in a position to evaluate a minister’s performance. 

Following a failed tender round‚ the agency told the constitutional court that the payment of grants would be handled in-house. Last week the agency told the court it had no capacity to administer the grants and would need to extend the CPS contract.

The Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has now demanded details on who was responsible for determining whether the agency would not be able to pay the grants by the end of March. The court also wanted to know the date when that person became aware of the fact and the reason the court was not immediately informed about this.

In addition‚ the court wanted to find out whether Sassa had entered into any agreement with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) in relation to the payment of grants from April 1.

Sassa and the social development department have been given until Monday at 4pm to provide answers.