Former minister Bathabile Dlamini’s Sassa case postponed

Former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini returned to the Johannesburg Regional Court on Tuesday for perjury.

Dlamini is facing charges related to her testimony during an inquiry by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) with regards to her role in the social grants crisis in 2017.

Dlamini’s case postponed

Her case has now been postponed to 1 October 2021. This is to allow the state and Dlamini’s legal representatives to exchange the contents of the docket.

Back in August, the director of public prosecutions in Gauteng issued a summons for the ANC Women’s League president to appear in court for alleged perjury.

The 2018 inquiry was instituted by the ConCourt after it had admonished Dlamini for the repeated extension of the unlawful contract between Sassa and Cash Paymaster Services.

Sassa’s contract with Cash Paymaster Services was renewed several times, and Dlamini was accused of not handling the matter ethically.

READ MORE: Bathabile Dlamini to be prosecuted for lying about social grants crisis

Social grants crisis of 2017

A report released by the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) in 2017 showed more people were receiving social grants than the number of employed citizens.

In 2016, there were 15,545,000 employed citizens in South Africa, while 17,094,331 people were receiving social grants. The report also stated government would find it hard to expand the grants rollout as the economy slows.

Speaking to The Citizen at the time, SAIRR analyst Gerbrandt van Heerden said the social grants crisis was a “recipe for political chaos”.

“As the economy stagnates and tax revenue slows, demand for more grants will increase. The government will then have to cut other areas of expenditure in order to meet popular demand for more and higher grants.”

READ MORE: Social grants are ‘unsustainable’