The government may extend its deal with Net 1 UEPS Technologies, a company with which it has been embroiled in legal battles, because it is not ready to make welfare payments worth about R140bn a year when the contract ends in April. The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), which was due to take over the monthly payments to more than 16-million people, "will not be the paymaster or operating as the bank that takes the cash or makes the payments", Social Development Department director-general Zane Dangor said by phone on Tuesday. "We have come up with some really good models, but those models will only be able to kick in from October or November next year," he said, without giving more details. Net 1 has had the contract to distribute the payments electronically for four years. The Constitutional Court said Net 1’s contract was invalid in November 2013 and Sassa was expected to start a new tender process. Due to legal challenges Net 1 has continued to operate the system.
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