Serge Belamant warns that time is running out to finalise grant contract
Cash Paymaster Services CEO says there will be no social grant payments to more than 11-million South Africans on April 1 unless a deal is struck on Wednesday
There will be no social grant payments to more than 11-million South Africans on April 1 unless a deal is struck with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) by Wednesday. That was the warning from CPS CEO Serge Belamant late on Tuesday in papers filed at the Constitutional Court. As the papers were filed‚ Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini was speaking in Parliament‚ promising MPs and the nation that there was no crisis. Belamant’s claim came in an affidavit that was included in a flurry of court papers filed before a hearing due in the Constitutional Court on Wednesday. He said 12 business days were required to prepare for the payments. "This effectively means that all negotiations and contract finalisation need to be completed by no later than March 15‚" he said in the affidavit. The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has told the court that CPS is the only company that can ensure payments continue. Its contract — declared illegal in 2014 by the court — is due to expir...
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