COURT RULING
Net1 gets green light for social grant deductions
Judge finds neither Bathabile Dlamini nor the South African Social Security Agency have the power to block deductions
Net1 and Grindrod enjoyed the unfamiliar experience of courtroom victory on Tuesday, when the High Court in Pretoria ruled that attempts by Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini to prohibit deductions from the accounts of social grant recipients were unenforceable. The judge found that neither Dlamini nor the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) had the power to block deductions from an established bank account. This power rested with the Reserve Bank. The Bank had cautioned that the authority Dlamini and Sassa attempted to impose "would disrupt the system of collection and payment by creditors and debtors that would result in a broader economic impact" due to unsuccessful debt collection. The judge said it was clear that once the grant was transferred into the recipient’s account at Grindrod, it operated as a bank account at any commercial banking institution. "There is clearly no difference and Sassa equally has no control over such account with Grindrod as it does...
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