EFF STATEMENT ON MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF POST OFFICE

Thursday, November 2, 2017

The EFF rejects Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini’s refusal to give the South Africa Post Office opportunity to distribute social grants. The despicable behaviour by the Minister and acting CEO of South Africa Social Services Agency (SASSA) Pearl Bhengu to frustrate the process is opportunistic and attempts to bring back corrupt Cash Payment Services (CPS) in a back door. This is despite the Constitutional Court judgement which found that CPS contract with SASSA was illegal, the cost taxpayers unnecessary exorbitant fee of R170 million a month to administrate social grants and has too many corrupt dealings.

Dlamini has held the country to ransom before when the country and the Constitutional Court was left with no choice but to extend CPS contract with a year, something the EFF will not allow to happen again. SASSA and the Minister have wasted 7 months of the 12 months given by the Constitutional Court doing absolutely nothing.

CPS, in the process of making undue profits, as a subsidiary of Net1 was used as a secret back door to peddle information about grant beneficiaries, information that Net1 in turned used to make millions in selling insurance, loans and financial services to grant beneficiaries. Net1 made well over half a billion on social grants beneficiaries in one year alone, many who are left with nothing in their SASSA cards because of illegal and corruption deductions.

The web of corruption involving CPS extend to Grindrod Bank used to clear social grants to from government to beneficiaries and is apparently paid close to R500 million monthly. The web of corruption also includes EOH, which is paid R300 million per month for consultancy services. The web of corruption also includes the companies that provide insurance to the money when being transferred to recipients. The web of corruption also includes the R11, which will soon be increased to R22 charged by CPS for each and every recipient of social grants per month. 

Politicians are in one way or another embroiled in this web of monies paid to different companies and they know that if taken from corrupt private service providers, social grants will not continue to privately benefit them. The Minister is clearly at the Centre of coordinating what is evidently a frustration of the South African Post Office's take over of the payment of social grants. 

The Minister’s behaviour is in contempt with the highest court of the land and her insistence on CPS as a preferred service provider is part of the looting that is happening at an industrial scale. The Minister and SASSA decision to refuse Post Office opportunity to distribute social grants on the basis of lack of capacity are unfounded and ill-advised. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have evaluated Post Office readiness and assured that the Post office can deliver 97% of all required deliverables. The Minister bid adjudication and evaluation committee cannot be trusted as they are answerable to the Minister. The adjudication and evolution committee conclusion that the Post Office will fail must be dismissed with the contempt it deserves, in particular, the recommendation that the Post Office can distribute grants but not the card body system production and management as it will continue to subject our people to corrupt and illegal deductions without anyone to hold accountable.

The Post Office must be given the opportunity to distribute social grants in its totality, and the government has the responsibility to support the Post Office to build much-needed capacity as a future social investment. The EFF is committed to building state capacity, and as such the case payments of social grants is an opportunity to build state capacity through the Post Office to demonstrate that through state-owned entities we can deliver services in an affordable and efficient manner.

If the Minister persist to disregard the law, deliberately sideline and sabotage the Post Office and allow the corrupt deal between the Minister and CPS through a new Gupta linked company with the same CPS technology, the EFF will Explore and engage in Court process which will again force to comply with the constitutional court ruling. If she fails to comply with the constitutional court ruling, the EFF will open a criminal case against her and she must be personally held liable. 

Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, 2 November 2017