An exchange of letters shows that Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) urged the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) almost a year ago to avoid several pitfalls that could lead to a social grants crisis. CPS warned that there needed to be a smooth transition when its contract ended to ensure than 17-million social grant recipients continued getting their money come April 1 2017. The correspondence is attached to an affidavit submitted to the Constitutional Court by Net1 boss Serge Belamant. His company‚ CPS‚ is at the centre of the pension grants crisis. But the repeated warnings did not appear to spur Sassa into action and the parties agreed to meet only on March 1 2017 — exactly a month before the CPS contract ends. Belamant wrote to the executive manager of special projects at Sassa on May 24 2016‚ saying it would take more than a year to replace social grant cards and stressed that timing was important to ensure "a smooth takeover that would not result in massive disruptions i...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.