ConCourt asks: Why shouldn’t Dlamini‚ Bhengu pay costs for Sassa debacle?

23 March 2018 - 14:43 By Ernest Mabuza
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Bathabile Dlamini. File photo.
Bathabile Dlamini. File photo.
Image: Gallo Images / City Press / Leon Sadiki

Acting social security boss Pearl Bhengu and former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini must present affidavits to the Constitutional Court showing why they should not be held personally liable to pay costs for the social grants payment debacle.

In its order passed on Friday‚ the court also ensured that all social grant recipients will receive their payments from April 1.

It ordered that Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) and the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) are under a constitutional obligation to ensure payment of social grants to beneficiaries who are paid in cash.

The court order said the declaration of invalidity of a contract between Sassa and CPS‚ in relation to cash payment of social grants to beneficiaries who are paid in cash‚ is further suspended for a six month period from April 1.

The court made this order following an urgent application by Sassa last month for the extension of the contract it had with CPS to be extended for a further six months.

Justice Leona Theron‚ who read the unanimous order‚ said the reasons for the ruling would follow at a later date.

The contract Sassa currently has with CPS was declared invalid by the Constitutional Court in 2014.

But in March last year‚ the court extended the invalid CPS contract to the end of March this year after the agency failed to find a new contractor to pay social grants from April 1 last year.

In its latest application filed by Bhengu‚ Sassa said it had managed to make arrangements for three of the four categories of beneficiaries of social grants to be serviced by entities other than CPS.

But it had been unable to procure a supplier to ensure payment of social grants to some 2.5 million beneficiaries who receive their grants as cash payments.

Sassa said this category included people who were illiterate‚ elderly and disabled and who did not use banks.

CPS‚ in its answering affidavit‚ said while it preferred not to provide any payment services beyond March 31 until its position was regularised by a lawful tender process‚ it remained willing and able to provide whatever payment services to ensure the uninterrupted payment of grants.

CPS said providing the cash payment services at the current price would cause it to incur a considerable loss over the six-month period.

In its order on Friday‚ the court said CPS may‚ in writing‚ request National Treasury during the six-month period to investigate and make a recommendation regarding the price to be paid for the services it has to render.

National Treasury must file a report with the court within 21 days of receipt of the request from CPS setting out its recommendation

The payment of social grant to cash recipients from April 1 should be on the same terms and conditions as those in the current contract between CPS and Sassa.

In addition‚ Sassa must ensure that the payment method it determines contains adequate safeguards to ensure that the personal data of beneficiaries obtained in the payment process remains private.

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