Despite scathing attack on Dlamini, ConCourt praises grants system

Constitutional Court Justice Johan Froneman on Friday gave judicial muscle to South Africa’s social grants system.

“One of the signature achievements of our constitutional democracy is the establishment of an inclusive and effective programme of social assistance,” said Froneman in handing down the court’s judgment on the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) debacle which had placed millions in jeopardy of not receiving their money when the agency’s contract with Cash Paymaster Services expired next month.

“It has had a material impact in reducing poverty and inequality and in mitigating the consequences of high levels of unemployment. In so doing it has given some content to the core constitutional values of dignity, equality and freedom,” Froneman said.

“This judgment is, however, not an occasion to celebrate this achievement. To the contrary, it is necessitated by the extraordinary conduct of the Minister of Social Development and of the South African Social Security Agency that have placed that achievement in jeopardy.

Political analyst Daniel Silke said from a policy point of view, one of the ANC’s biggest successes in its 20 years of governance was its ability to provide a safety net for the down and out in South Africa.

“With the very high levels of unemployment and associated poverty and inequality we have in SA, this has been a substantial achievement given the sheer magnitude of the grant and it has been a mainstay of the ANC,” said Silke.

“We need to look at a shift in the debate once we’ve accomplished an efficient roll-out of social grants we have to kick start the economy to enable those recipients to perhaps wean some of them off relying on social grants, and that’s the next challenge.”

Corruption Watch said in a statement the judgment was a “resounding win for South Africans and a celebration of the independence of the judiciary in the country”.

As amicus curiae (friend of the court), Corruption Watch said it would continue to participate in any further hearings or proceedings.

“This has been a good day at the office. The Constitutional Court has not only crafted a solution to the immediate crisis confronting our social grants programme, but it has also signalled its determination to hold personally accountable those responsible for the social grants crisis,” said the organisations David Lewis.

He welcomed the announcement by Allan Gray, one of the largest shareholders in CPS holding company Net1, that it was considering taking action against the board of Net1.

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