JOHANNESBURG – Net1 UEPS Technologies, the parent company of Cash Payment Services (CPS), will have to negotiate with the SA Social Security Agency over the pricing of the last six months of its contract to distribute social grants after the Constitutional Court said it could not at this stage interfere.
National Treasury earlier this year recommended that Sassa pay CPS a rate excluding VAT of R44.35 for cash payments and R16.94 for biometric payments performed by CPS, against the previously contracted rate of R14.42. However, Sassa was of the view that the Concourt had to rule specifically on the matter in order for it to adopt the Treasury-recommended rate.
CPS had requested R66.70 a beneficiary for cash social grant payments.
This forced CPS to approach the Concourt in an urgent application to obtain the court’s endorsement of the Treasury-recommended rate.
However, on Friday the Concourt ruled that it did not consider the matter urgent. “It is not in the interest of justice to hear it, because nothing prevents the parties from coming to an agreement on increased payments without court sanction, and if they do not, normal legal processes in other courts must be filed to determine the effects,” the court ordered.
The chief executive of Net1, Herman Kotzé, said the group wanted to finalise the matter speedily.
“We welcome the Constitutional Court clarification that its consent is not required to finalise the pricing for the last six months of the contract between CPS and Sassa.
“We look forward to engaging directly with Sassa to finalise our remuneration in accordance with the Treasury recommendation for the six-month period ending September 30 and bringing the six-and-a-half-year contract to its conclusion.”
Sassa could not be reached for comment. Its business ties with CPS came to a close when the extended contract expired at the end of September.