Net1 may still deduct money from grant beneficiaries’ accounts, court rules
The High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday found that deductions can be made from the bank accounts of social grant beneficiaries held with Grindrod. Net1 UEPS Technologies, the holding company for Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), which administers the payment of social grants, approached the court for a declaratory order regarding the government’s decision to limit direct deductions from beneficiaries’ accounts. This was after the company was criticised for selling airtime and insurance to beneficiaries and deducting the money from their accounts through debit orders. In 2016, Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini had announced revised regulations to the Social Assistance Act, which halted unauthorised and unlawful deductions. This prompted Net1 to approach the court for the declaratory order. The High Court on Tuesday found that once a grant was paid into a recipient’s Grindrod account, it operated as any other commercial bank. "There is clearly no difference and Sassa [South Afr...
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