Sassa briefing ends in insults between media and Dlamini

A tense media briefing in Tshwane called by Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini to discuss her plan to ensure grant payments are made at the start of April, ended with insults flying between herself and a member of the media.

Many representatives from different media houses had earlier been incensed at being told she would not respond to questions about the resignation of her director-general Zane Dangor, and that she could not spend much time on other questions since she had another meeting scheduled at 10pm.

Particularly Karyn Maughan from eNCA was combative in wanting answers about Dlamini’s alleged disrespect for the constitution.

Dlamini had earlier said grant beneficiaries would receive their payments on April 1, but was still not clear on exactly how this would happen.

At the question-and-answer session following the briefing, she defended her track record and slammed people who had gone out to “complain about the crisis”.

The department confirmed that there was not yet any final deal with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) in that no signed-off contract had yet been signed. As a result, no information was released on the amount CPS might charge to continue to provide a service. This appears to contradict an earlier announcement on Friday that there had been a deal after three days of negotiations.

The department responded that it was simply a case, however, that a deal had not yet been signed off.

When Maughan asked Dlamini whether she would be going back to the Constitutional Court to present their plans in the wake of the CPS tender having been declared unconstitutional, Dlamini responded: “It’s our responsibility to recommend for the deviation, and it remains our responsibility, through the CEO, to sign off on that deviation.”

The CEO, Thokozani Magwaza, it was reported, took sick leave last week.

Maughan: “But has the CEO signed that off?”

Dlamini: “I imagine you want to get into our offices. We have highlighted it remains our responsibility.”

Maughan: “But Ma’am, where is the CEO? This is a Sassa briefing and he is not here.”

Dlamini: “How should we account about people that are on sick leave? You are really ill-treating us!”

Maughan: “Yes, but your spokesperson told the Sunday Times that he was being suspended because he’d spoken to the Post Office.”

Dlamini: “Which spokesperson!?”

Maughan: “Lumka! [Oliphant].”

Dlamini: “No … that’s not true. I know that’s not true!”

Maughan: “The Sunday Times said it’s true.”

Dlamini: “No! If they want to say so, they must say so.”

Maughan: “So there’s no problem in your relationship with him whatsoever?”

Dlamini: “What relationship are you talking about?”

Maughan: “Well … your working relationship. Because according to the report, you were unhappy that he was negotiating with Post Office.”

[Long silence]

Dlamini: “We’ve told you our position in as far as….”

Maughan: “Minister, with all due respect you are constitutionally mandated to…”

Dlamini: “Noooo! Don’t come here with your preconceived ideas. If I did not stand up, you were going to say I am a lame duck. Now that I have stood up because things were not moving, I’m now flouting the constitution…”

Maughan: “But you’re not answering any of the questions.”

Dlamini: “No. Uh uh.”

Maughan: “Your DG has resigned; he’s the accounting officer, and you won’t speak about that. That is not acceptable in a constitutional democracy. We have a free press … we get to ask questions … we get to do that … that’s our job … and your job is to provide us with satisfactory answers and assure the people of South Africa that you’re actually in control of this crisis … and I don’t think anyone is thinking that at this point.”

Dlamini: “It’s you who is not thinking that way. We are going to pay on the 1st of April.”

Maughan: “But we have no idea at what cost, we have no idea…”

Dlamini: “It is the media perpetrating that we are not going to pay on the 1st of April.”

Maughan: “We have never said that … we have raised questions about the legality of the CPS deal in light of the Constitutional Court order.”

Dlamini: “You’ve created a lot of tension throughout the country. It’s our grandmothers and grandfathers that will walk long distances…”

Maughan: “It’s exactly because of that that we’re here today to ask you questions.”

Dlamini: “No! Nooo! It’s not about that.”

Maughan: “Treasury has said it is a self-created crisis that you created.”

Dlamini: “No … I am not going to speak on behalf of the Treasury. They must speak for themselves. I’m not going to answer what they think … it’s for them. It’s their issue. Ours is to ensure that on the 1st of April, our beneficiaries get their grants.”

Maughan: “You knew about this since October and you did nothing. Even now you’re not in court. The court is going to force you to have a hearing. How is that okay?”

Dlamini: “You must follow things properly, follow your things properly. You are coming here without information.”

Maughan: “Ma’am, I think I have a bit more information than you do.”

Dlamini: “No, we are fine.”

The minister then left.

The SABC was live-streaming the briefing, but cut the encounter with Maughan.

Watch the eNCA video below:

Following the briefing, Maughan was even more scathing in her report that the reason Dlamini had not given details of a deal with CPS in order to avoid having to account for it to the Constitutional Court and to Treasury.

There has also been reaction on social media: