Former Sassa CEO to square off with Dlamini at social grants inquiry

Former SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) chief execitive Thokozani Magwaza is set to give his version of what led to the social grants crisis on Friday.

Magwaza will be giving evidence at an inquiry into social development minister Bathabile Dlamini's role in the debacle. Dlamini‚ who has been on the witness stand since Monday‚ has insisted that she is not to blame.

Dlamini also admitted to having set up the work streams that were to execute the payment of social grants. However‚ she denied the work streams were unlawful and irregular.

She told the inquiry that although she had set up the work streams‚ they did not report directly to her‚ but to the executive committee of Sassa.

Magwaza has refuted Dlamini's claims‚ saying she had instructed Sassa not to interrupt the functioning of the work streams. Magwaza has also‚ through his counsel‚ told Dlamini that she had instructed him to focus on the day-to-day running of Sassa.

Retired judge Bernard Ngoepe‚ who heads the inquiry‚ has excused Dlamini from attending further sessions as she has completed her testimony. But Dlamini is welcome to sit through the rest of the inquiry if she wishes to‚ Ngoepe said.

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