Dismissing the social development minister is like ‘law of the jungle’
Answering questions about the Sassa crisis, Zuma says it is ‘a funny democracy’ when you punish someone before the crime — not paying grants in April — happens
President Jacob Zuma has dismissed calls for him to sack two of his embattled ministers — Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini and Communications Minister Faith Muthambi. Zuma told MPs during a question and answer session in the National Assembly on Thursday that it would be premature to "evaluate" or dismiss the two ministers. DA leader Mmusi Maimane had asked Zuma if he did not "believe it’s time … to act and remove Dlamini from Cabinet" after her mishandling of the social grants crisis. He said he had been briefed on the matter, and officials from the Treasury and the department of social development were working hard to address the issues. Several groups, including the Congress of South African Trade Unions, have called on Dlamini to either resign or be axed over the social grant fiasco. The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has not yet developed a new system to pay the grants to 17-million beneficiaries and has been negotiating with CPS — its current service...
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