Sassa in late rush to court to extend social grants contract
The South African Social Security Agency finally admits it lacks distribution capacity
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has turned to the Constitutional Court at the 11th hour, asking it to extend a social grants distribution contract it invalidated in 2014. In its papers, the agency has finally admitted that it does not have the capacity to distribute the social grants and says the payments thereof will be in jeopardy come April 1 if the court turns down its urgent application. Sassa also concedes that its efforts to petition the Treasury for a condonation have failed. Sassa has also ruled out all other options to distribute the social grants, including roping in the country’s major banks, insisting that only a Cash Paymaster Systems (CPS) contract extension will do. A Sassa delegation is due to meet Net1 CEO Serge Belamant on Wednesday to discuss the terms of a contract extension, while Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini is giving a briefing on the matter on the same day. If you are already a subscriber, please click on the following link ...
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