Grants to be paid - on April 3

Minister Bathabile Dlamini's Social Development Department yesterday reassured concerned beneficiaries that social grants will be paid - but only on April 3.

Beneficiaries endured weeks of uncertainty worrying about whether they would be paid grants by Cash Paymaster Services - the private company whose contract to do so was supposed to end on March 31. "Payments are set to be made on Monday April 3 at all of the traditional pay points, including merchants, points of sale and banks and the national police commissioner has been requested to increase police visibility on that day," said the department.

• ANC calls for ‘harsh consequences’ for those to blame for social grants bungleGovernment must investigate those responsible for the “embarrassing” social grants saga and act decisively against them‚ the African National Congress said on Friday.

When the first of the month falls on a weekend, grant payments are shifted to the first working day of the month. To avoid confusion, the department said its pay points would not open on April 1.

While the department will meet its deadline to pay grants, all eyes in the coming week will be on whether Dlamini meets a deadline of her own.

• WATCH: Hold Dlamini to account for social grants chaos‚ says DASocial Development Department Minister Bathabile Dlamini should be held to account for her failure to prevent the social grants crisis‚ the Democratic Alliance said on Friday.

She was ordered to submit an affidavit by the end of the month explaining why she should not pay from her own pocket the cost of litigation in the Constitutional Court by NGOs the Black Sash and Freedom Under Law to resolve the grants crisis.

"We must do whatever we can to intervene, to ensure that we don't proliferate the crisis," said Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng during the legal wrangle. Dlamini and her officials were harshly criticised during court proceedings.

Department spokesman Lumka Oliphant told The Times yesterday that the minister would "comply with the court order" and submit her affidavit.