Minister holds up Sassa's ConCourt grants plea

Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) may squeeze the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) for an extra R1.3bn a year to distribute welfare grants – and Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini is making sure it gets what it wants, according to an article by Craig McKune for amaBhungane. This, he notes, is more than a 50% jump on the current annual R2.2bn fee – and after years of inaction, Sassa officials have almost no negotiating position for a counter offer. Last week, Sassa was expected to go to the Constitutional Court – which invalidated the CPS contract in 2014 – to seek permission to extend CPS’ contract. Instead, Dlamini intervened, stopping her officials from filing the papers so she could take the weekend to consider, and ‘consult’ with somebody. CPS has argued there is no point seeking an extension of the existing contract, since it has already been declared invalid, arguing for a new contract to be drawn up. According to an IoL report, Dlamini – who stressed that it was her responsibility to select an option to follow from April that will ensure uninterrupted payment of grants – denied persistent reports that the issue had fallen hostage to tension between herself and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. She said they had co-operated on finding a solution and therefore had joint ownership of all options on the table. Turning to a legal opinion by Wim Trengove SC on whether extending the contract with CPS would be lawful, the Minister said it was not the only opinion solicited on the matter. ‘The comprehensive opinion by Win Tengrove SC was part of the Minister's attempt to make Sassa a better organisation. It was one of three legal opinions sought, given the complex legal issues associated with a contract deemed invalid by the country's highest court,’ explained the department.