'Workstreams to deal with grants debacle did not undermine Sassa'

The fact that the workstreams reported directly to her ‚did not undermine the role of the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa)‚ social development minister Bathabile Dlamini said on Monday.

"That did not mean the executives had no role to play. I did not see that the role of Sassa was undermined by the workstreams‚" Dlamini told an inquiry into her role in the social grants crisis.

The inquiry‚ headed by retired judge Bernard Ngoepe‚ kicked off on Monday.

Dlamini told the inquiry that Sassa was aware of the role of the workstreams as this was communicated to the agency.

"The procurement process was done through Sassa and its officials were part of a meeting during which it was decided that the workstreams would be established."

The Constitutional Court early last year ordered that an inquiry be established to set out Dlamini’s roles and responsibilities as social development minister.

The court found that it could not make an “adverse” order against the minister on the basis of allegations that had not been tested.

The court ordered that all parties involved in the matter appoint a judge to investigate whether Dlamini should be held liable for the grants saga.

The Black Sash Trust approached the court in March after the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) acknowledged it would not be able to pay millions of grants from April 1‚ despite promising the court in November 2015 it would do so.