Cape Town – The Black Sash on Monday stressed that it wanted the Constitutional Court to be made the gatekeeper on the terms of an imminent new deal between the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and Cash Paymaster Services to distribute welfare grants.
After Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini confirmed at the weekend that a deal would be inked with the Net1 subsidiary, the human rights group said the court must be given oversight over the contract "before it is a fait accompli".
"The Black Sash submits that, given the situation Sassa has created, the ConCourt should compel Sassa and CPS to enter into a contract on terms designed to protect grant beneficiaries," it said.
"The Black Sash asks that the ConCourt re-instate its oversight role to oversee Sassa's further management of its Constitutional obligations relating to the lawful and effective payment of social grants."
The Black Sash's application is due to be heard next week, on March 15.
It was reported on Monday that Serge Belamont, the CEO of Net1, has claimed that the deal agreed to over three days of talks last week, was "fantastically good for Sassa".
Dlamini, however, has been tight-lipped on the terms negotiated with CPS.
A media briefing on the subject on Sunday ended in insults between the minister and the media. She confined herself to giving assurances that South Africa's 17 million welfare grant and state pension beneficiaries would be paid beyond March 31, when CPS's current contract runs out.
The contract was found invalid by the Constitutional Court, but the ruling suspended for its full duration so as not to disrupt the distribution of grants. Sassa was intended to take over the payment function itself from April, but in a disclosure to the Constitutional Court last week revealed that it was several years away from having the capacity to do so.
Because the eleventh-hour talks with CPS on a further contract excluded any other bidders, National Treasury has to agree to a deviation from normal procurement rules before a deal can be inked. It is understood that the department of social development has yet to approach the treasury. Dlamini was due to appear before Parliament's watchdog public accounts committee on Tuesday to account for the crisis, which has widely been described as self-made.
The Democratic Alliance said it has asked Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to ensure that she presents herself to Scopa for questioning, after she failed to do so last week. "Since this crisis emerged and despite the DA's efforts, Dlamini has evaded every opportunity for accountability. If rumours are to go by, it seems likely that she may do so again tomorrow," said the DA spokeswoman for social development, Bridget Masango.
When the committee met last Tuesday, Dlamini was absent without explanation and left it to her director general, Zane Dangor, to face questions from MPs. Dangor resigned from his post on Friday, apparently in protest at the handling of the debacle.