Johannesburg - CEO of Net1 has dared the government to use pigeons to pay social grants to millions of beneficiaries next month.
Speaking outside the Constitutional Court in Joburg yesterday, Serge Belamant, chief executive of Net1 subsidiary Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), said his company was the only one with the capacity to pay the grants. He said that unless the government could send “pigeons to fly around” and deliver the cash, no one else could make the payments.
Belamant added: “We are not unreasonable people. One thing we have proved is we can do the job. Is there anybody who can step into our shoes? The answer is no, except for the Post Office or the pigeons they can use to, you know, fly money around. But apart from these, who else is available?”
Yesterday, the Constitutional Court was hearing an application brought by the Black Sash seeking the reinstatement of the court’s oversight role over how social grants were paid.
The current contract with CPS was found to be illegal in 2014 and expires at the end of this month, and all Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng wanted to know was why the grant crisis happened and why Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini should not be held personally liable.
Justice Mogoeng, who called the social grant debacle a “crisis”, wanted to know why Dlamini and the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) did not approach the court on time when they realised they could not administer grant payments.
“I genuinely want to understand how we got to this level that can be characterised as absolute incompetence,” he stated.
Pushed for answers, Andrew Breitenbach, who was representing Dlamini and the department, said: “I don’t know.”
He said his clients needed an 18-month contract extension with CPS in order to set up a competitive bidding process and introduce a new contractor.
Justice Mogoeng asked why, if paying grants was the department’s core business, it was unable to take over the payments.
While CPS was arguing it wanted a new contract to be granted before it could follow through on its constitutional obligation to pay grants, the Post Office said it was ready to take over the service.
CPS said time was running out and the company needed at least 12 days to process payments to grant recipients.
Alfred Cockrell, CPS’s legal counsel, said: “If someone is available to offer the services, we are ready to step back. If not, my clients require a contract with Sassa. Otherwise, they will be unable to do this without a contract.”
Asked how much the new proposed contract would cost Sassa, Cockrell said: “The payment is a lump sum per month and not a payment per beneficiary.” When asked for a number, he couldn’t offer one.
The Post Office said it needed only one month to be ready to pay the social grants. It said, like CPS, it would outsource services such as security but would be able to pay grants.
Read also: CPS tried to 'blackmail' government
The postal service’s advocate Aslam Bava said his client was ready to pay out grants.
He said the service had experience in this field as it was already paying 500000 beneficiaries in the Eastern Cape. While CPS charges R16.44 per beneficiary, the Post Office would charge R20.
“This is a national crisis and we cannot have a company hold us to ransom. If there is a government entity that can do the job, it should be given a chance,” he added.
Justice Mogoeng raised concerns over whether the Post Office would be able to run the grant system without glitches. In response Bava said: “There is no room for excuses when dealing with 17 million people. One missed payment is disastrous.”
Arguing on behalf of Freedom Under Law, advocate Geoff Budlender said the current contract between Sassa and CPS should continue for six months under the current terms while another was being sought.
Outside the court, ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said it was up to the court to determine who was wrong in the Sassa grant saga.
Judgment has been reserved.