Black Sash, FUL to appear before ConCourt over grants payment

There is an urgent application in the Constitutional Court on Wednesday in a bid to ensure 17 million of South Africa’s most vulnerable receive their social grants come April 1.

Black Sash Trust is bringing the application in a bid to ensure Sassa continues its relationship with CPS, but on terms which are not harmful or exploitative of the grant system and its beneficiaries.

Freedom Under Law (FUL) has also lodged an application for leave to intervene.

Respondents in the matter include Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini, Sassa and its CEO Thokozani Magwaza, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the National Treasury, CPS, and the information regulator.

FUL’s application is to be heard simultaneously with Black Sash’s.

In 2014, the Constitutional Court declared invalid South Africa Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) current contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) to pay out social grants for the agency.

The contract ends on March 31 and negotiations for a new contract between the parties have been stopped by a ministerial task team, which said these discussions could only take place with the approval of the National Treasury.

Black Sash Trust said: “We can only hope to avoid more harm by ensuring that the contract going forward is not negotiated on terms only favourable to CPS and instead protects the constitutional rights of the people it is meant to benefit.

“The emergency situation created demonstrates that the minister… does not have adequate oversight over Sassa. Black Sash is, therefore, also requesting that the Constitutional Court re-establish its oversight in respect of the process of social grant payments and provide milestones, as well as timelines.”

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