Social grant beneficiaries in 'disaster' countdown
On April 1, 17 million grant recipients will expect to be paid, but plans to do so are up in the air. Chris Barron speaks to Thokozani Magwaza, CEO of the South African Social Security Agency.
Thokozani Magwaza repeats, like a mantra, that whatever happens, 17 million social grant recipients will be paid on April 1. He's just not sure how. In three days Magwaza, CEO of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), will ask the Constitutional Court to extend the agency's contract with Cash Paymaster Services, which has been doing the job since 2012. In 2014, the court declared the contract invalid and told Sassa to come up with an alternative. It has not. Now it is looking at a crisis; 17million people whose lives depend on receiving their monthly grants on time are looking at a crisis; and the whole country is looking at a crisis. If the court extends the CPS contract, Magwaza will have to grovel before Serge Belamant, CEO of Net1 UEPS, which owns CPS. Belamant holds all the cards, because although Magwaza talks about "other options" he admits they're not going to be ready in time. Belamant is expected to drive a hard bargain. He said this week in Business Day, th...
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