DA lead march over the Sassa debacle in Pretoria

The marchers want the government to be held accountable for putting the lives of 17 million South Africans at risk and undermining the Constitutional Court.

March 13, 2017

David Matsena 2 minutes read

Hundreds of South Africans, mostly recipients of social security grants, marched to the department of social development on Friday to raise their concerns over the department’s poor handling of the social grants disbursement issue.

Democratic Alliance leader, Mmusi Maimane, will led the march to the department to hand over a memorandum.

“We want to ensure that they are held accountable for putting the lives of 17 million South Africans at risk and undermining the Constitutional Court,” said Maimane.

Several buses were dispatched to fetch residents from various parts of Pretoria.

Among the people who attended the march that started at Princes Park in Pretoria Central were pensioners and young mothers, most of whom are beneficiaries of the social grants.

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One of the pensioners, Agnes Moikanyane from Soshanguve told Rekord she came to support the march because she feared losing her pension money and the grants of her grandchildren.

“It will be the end of the ANC government if we do not get our pension money on 1 April. The ANC used to be a party that cares, but we are scared now. We are afraid, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” she said.

The leader was joined by DA national spokesperson Refiloe Nt’sekhe, DA Gauteng provincial leader John Moodey, DA shadow minister and deputy of social development, Bridget Masango, and Lindy Wilson, DA SCOPA spokesperson, Tim Brauteseth, DA Gauteng North regional chairperson, Fred Nel, and DA Gauteng MPL Makashule Gana.

Among the other things, the memorandum stated that the contract with current service provider, Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), which was controversially awarded in 2012, was declared invalid by the Constitutional Court in 2014.

Maimane said the minister has sat on her hands, allowing this crisis to materialise, even though she was warned as far back as May 2016, by Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), about this impending crisis.

“The sudden resignation of the director-general of the social development department, Zane Dangor, amid this crisis, and the minister’s subsequent refusal to explain this, or entertain any questions on the resignation stays unanswered,” he said.

He said the social grants crisis has the potential to send 17 million poor, vulnerable South Africans into abject poverty, as we are less than three weeks away from the expiration of the current, invalid contract to distribute social grants.

ALSO READ: Thousands marching in Pretoria over Sassa saga

According to Maimane, the minister of social development has completely failed in her mandate, and is ultimately responsible for this crisis.

“We therefore call on her to clarify whether there exists an agreement between Sassa and CPS for the delivery of social grants after 31 March 2017. If so, in the spirit of accountability, to make the public aware of the terms of such agreement, including costs, time frames, and any other relevant conditions,” he said.