Concourt not confident Post Office can pay grants in one month

The Constitutional Court interrogated the SA Post Office on Wednesday on its submission that it’s capable of taking over the payment of 17 million welfare grants within one month.

This follows Sapo’s declaration to the CEO of the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) at the beginning of the month that it could take over grant payments from Cash PaymaserServices (CPS).

Sapo, in its heads of argument, repeated the claim in the Constitutional Court.

The court was hearing an application for direct access by nongovernmental organisation Black Sash seeking the reinstatement of the court’s oversight role over how grants reach some 17 million beneficiaries.

Sassa declared it would not be able to in-source the function by next month  and sought to extend the contract with CPS.

Advocate Aslam Bava, representing Sapo, argued the state-owned agency could carry out the payment of grants via its financial service provider, the Post Bank, which has six million accounts, by handing out vouchers.

“If organs of state are properly capacitated there is no need to look to private solutions,” Bava said, referring to CPS.

“What we are faced with is the issue of an illegal [CPS] contract – and the second is the practicalities. We fall within the area of the practicalities.

“Sapo has been paying over millions of beneficiaries in the Eastern Cape, so it can deliver. Sapo is standing in the wings. That’s all we are saying.”

He pointed out that CPS also did not have the capacity to carry out its own functions and relied on subcontracting, saying Sapo could do the same but cheaper, and that most of the money it made would go back to state coffers, making Sapo’s solution in the best interest of the country.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said the principle was sound, but  queried whether Sapo had “an admirable track record in service delivery”, saying it seemed “overly ambitious” to suggest it could take over the payment of grants in one month.

“How do we take the Post Office seriously if it says it needs just one month when there is not even a contract in place?” he asked.

“To put systems in place and reach out to people in rural areas, we need a realistic proposal. That takes more than one month.”

Bava said: “A court order should be that the illegal contract come to an end and Sapo shows it has the ability.”

Advocate Andrew Breitenbach, representing Sassa and the social development minister, argued for a 12 to 18-month extension of the CPS contract.

– Additional reporting by African News Agency

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