Sassa flouted policy in CPS payment, court told
Corruption Watch has called for amount paid for reregistration of children to be refunded
Corruption Watch told the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) had not complied with its supply chain policy when it agreed to pay Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) for the reregistration of social grant beneficiaries in 2015. In 2015, former Sassa CEO Virginia Petersen authorised the payment of R317m to CPS when she received an invoice for the reregistration of children. Corruption Watch has called for the payment to be set aside and the money repaid. It claims Sassa deviated from the main contract with CPS without securing approval. Corruption Watch first instituted the court challenge in March 2015, alleging the payment followed an unlawful variation to the original contract and it was made without verifying the work done by CPS. Sassa initially opposed Corruption Watch’s action, arguing that Petersen’s decision to make the payment was taken on the basis of a report into CPS’s claim by audit firm KPMG. It emerged during the court pr...
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.