Social Grants Crisis: 28 days and counting since DA called for dodging Dlamini to be fired

14 March 2017

It has been 28 days since the DA called on President Zuma to fire the Social Development Minister over her inexcusable mismanagement of the social grants crisis and still no action has been taken to hold her accountable for putting the livelihoods of 17 million South Africans at risk.

Since then it has emerged that:

- SASSA has failed to answer questions put to them by the Constitutional Court regarding social grants and the CPS contract;

- SASSA knew they would not be ready to take over the distribution of social grants as far back as April 2016, a full year ago;

- Dlamini has taken every opportunity to block any alternative options that do not involve CPS;

- Three different legal opinions, which stated that SASSA should approach the Constitutional court, were ignored by Dlamini;

- The President’s special advisor, Michael Hulley, has been involved in ensuring CPS would continue to distribute social grants; and

- Dlamini has failed to answer 93% of parliamentary questions regarding the social grants crisis.

The DA have already written to the Public Protector, Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane, to request two investigations, one into the relationship between the Minister and CPS as there seems to be a possibility that Dlamini will, in some way, benefit from the CPS contract, and the second to investigate whether Dlamini wilfully mislead Parliament.

It is blatantly obvious that Dlamini is not fit for office and her contempt for the highest court in our country is matched only by her contempt for the most vulnerable people in our country.

The laundry list of failures by Dlamini is vast and it is high time the President puts the interests of the people and their wellbeing first.

Issued by Bridget Masango, DA Shadow Minister of Social Development, 14 March 2017