Mohamed Ameen Dabhelia – 2017/02/21

As we move toward the end of February, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has been left in limbo over the discrepancies related to its payment agreement with Cash Payment Services (CPS), the firm contracted by the agency to handle all payouts to grant beneficiaries. 

The Social Development Department is only left with a month to try and push SASSA to get its affairs in order to be able to meet its obligation of paying close to 17 million grants.

Back in 2015, SASSA issued a new tender but did not award it, making a controversial move by opting to make the payment of social grants in-house.

Radio Islam’s Ml Sulaimaan Ravat discussed the SASSA payment debacle with Zohra Dawood, the Director in the Centre for Unity in Diversity at the FW de Klerk Foundation.

Dawood says two years ago, the Constitutional Court declared the tender process and awarding of the tender to Cash Paymaster Services, to be irregular.

“What that means is, there were concerns about the tender process, and we all know, from the former Public Protectors office, there were many concerns about the awarding of very lucrative deals, and this is really the concern with Cash Paymaster Solutions.”

She says that Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini must report to the constitutional court from term to term to convey that they are doing something about finding an alternate service provider.

“The crisis we find ourselves in, there has been almost no action, and not enough effort to go out and find ways and means of re-advertising, looking robustly for other services providers.”

Dawood is adamant that come 31 March this year, South Africa and the 17 million people who rely on the grants will be left in a crisis.

Now, according to treasury, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan wrote to Minister Dlamini, saying a new contract should be awarded to commercial banks and the SA Post Office, further stipulating that biometric identification should not be a contract requirement as it would disadvantage other companies and favour CPS.

Dlamini rejected Gordhan’s proposal for the banks and post office to distribute social grants to 17 million beneficiaries.

She says National Treasury’s proposal to distribute R10 billion in monthly grants was impractical and “not thought through carefully”.

(Edited By Hesley Harmse)