DA calls for National Treasury to step in to resolve social grant crisis

2 February 2017

Social grants are a lifeline to 17 million poor and vulnerable South Africans who rely on the money they receive each month from the government, just to get by.

Since mid-2016, the DA has been investigating and calling for clarity on SASSA’s plan to take over the distribution of social grants, in line with the Constitutional Court order to this effect.

We have challenged the Minister, time and time again, to table a detailed plan for the critical transition, and we have repeatedly put verbal and written questions of the Minister and SASSA to get all relevant details. We were met instead by contempt and inaction.

Indeed, at one point the Minister even told the Portfolio Committee on Social Development that it “should not push SASSA to say who is going to pay the money”, displaying her utter disregard for the vital oversight role Parliament is mandated to carry out.

It is completely unacceptable that SASSA waited until yesterday, 8 weeks before the contract with Cash Paymaster Services Pty Ltd (CPS) expires, to inform Parliament and the public that it is going to seek a 12-month extension of the current invalid contract to distribute social grants with the current service provider, CPS, via the Constitutional Court.

This admission of failure, is an indictment on SASSA, on the Department of Social Development and especially on the absent Minister, Bathabile Dlamini.

It is quite clear that the Minister cares more about campaigning for the ANC than she does about vulnerable South Africans.

Her recent trip to Ethiopia on ANC business as well as her absence at the Portfolio meeting yesterday are two of many instances where the Minister has shown just how little she wants to do with helping poor and vulnerable South Africans.

The DA believes that SASSA never had any real intention of meeting the 01 April 2017deadline for taking over of the distribution of social grants. In fact, it is our contention that SASSA willfully manufactured an emergency that would leave them with no choice but to extend the current contract.

This cannot be left unanswered. The DA is therefore considering legal action against SASSA and relevant officials in respect of their failure to comply with the Constitutional Court judgement handed down in 2014 and their constitutional obligations. Specifically, we are considering approaching the Constitutional Court to ask that the relevant officials be held responsible for their conduct which has now created what they call an ‘emergency’ in order to extend an invalid contract.

Our major focus remains on ensuring that every single person who needs social assistance receives the help they deserve from our government. The DA will therefore also call upon President Zuma to issue a proclamation transferring the lead role in the contractual negotiations as well as in the process of appointing a new service provider from the negligent Minister of Social Development to the Minister of Finance.

This is in line with Section 97 of the Constitution which states that “The President by proclamation may transfer to a member of the Cabinet – (a) the administration of any legislation entrusted to another member; or (b) any power or function entrusted by legislation to another member.”

This will allow the National Treasury to ensure that the financial implications of both the contract extension and the appointment of a new service provider are done in a manner that ensures that the financial impact to the country is minimised.

The Department of Social Development will remain responsible for the administration and oversight of the general functioning of SASSA as well as the continued and uninterrupted payment of grants.

The DA will also seek clarity on the terms and conditions of this forced extension to ensure that CPS is not given an unnecessary advantage or are able to inflate the cost of distributing social grant for another year.

The Minister and SASSA have repeatedly assured the DA in parliament as well as the public that SASSA would, in fact, be ready to take over the social grant payment distribution function, but it should come as no surprise that these were false assurances.

All indications are that the Minister deliberately misled Parliament on this issue. In May 2016 during her budget vote speech, the Minister stated, “As reaffirmed by the Ministerial Advisory Committee, SASSA is taking over the management and control of the payment process that is currently performed by a third party, from 1 April 2017.”

Our research, together with the information presented to Committee yesterday, it is clear that the deadline was never going to be met.

It is our belief that the Minister must have known this at the time of her budget speech last year and as such we will request that the Public Protector, in terms of Section 3 (1) of the Executive Members Ethics Act, investigate this breach of the Code.

The blatant lack of leadership and concern displayed by Minister Dlamini is a slap in the face of the 17 million people who rely on social grants.

The DA has fought long and hard to ensure clarity and transparency on the handover of the distribution of social grants. We will continue to do so for the 17 million South Africans who rely on social grants just to get by.

Issued by Bridget Masango, DA Shadow Minister of Social Development, 2 February 2017