Johannesburg – Cosatu has called for the Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini to resign or be dismissed for the crisis surrounding South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).
It said it on Thursday, at its post Central Executive Committee meeting press briefing, that it was concerned about the manner in which the issuing of social grants was handled by the minister and her team.
The Constitutional Court ruled in 2014 that the extension of the contract of issuing social grants to Cash Paymaster Services was unlawful.
The department was required to issue a new contract but had not done so, risking that millions of social grants dependents might not be paid next month.
Cosatu's general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali called on President Jacob Zuma to intervene and for "heads to roll at Sassa".
"They (Dlamini and her team) have failed to deal decisively with the irregular expenditure and irregular tender prodedures that resulted in the threat to the livelihoods of 17 million grant beneficiaries," said Ntshalintshali.
"This is not just an administrative bungling but it is a political own goal that smells of corruption," said Ntshalintshali.
On Wednesday Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa told Parliament that the Sassa issue would be resolved.
As a solution Cosatu has called for the total eradication of outsourcing of government functions.
The federation said just like former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu resigned after the Life Esidemeni saga, the heads of departments must resign when they fail to do their work properly.
It said the Post Office and the Post Bank should be used as priority service providers to issue social grants.
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