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Concourt to hear tender case

The Constitutional Court will hear arguments on Tuesday relating to the awarding of a social grant tender, which was found to be invalid by a lower court. The unsuccessful bidder, AllPay Consolidated Investment Holdings, argues the tender process was procedurally flawed and unfair, and violated sections of the Constitution. The R10 billion tender was awarded to Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) for the administration of social grants over a five-year period. The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa), which pays around 15 million in social grants a month, initiated the tender process, aiming in part to address fraud and theft problems within its system.

A central issue in the tender was the provision of a system which could reliably identify the recipients of grants. AllPay approached the Pretoria High Court with various concerns about the tender process. The court found in favour of AllPay, and ruled that the tender process did not comply with the requirements and was procedurally unfair. The court declared the tender process invalid, but did not set the tender aside because it would have disrupted the delivery of social grants. AllPay appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which found in favour of Sassa and overturned the high court order.

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that a fair process did not demand perfection in every step, nor could a tender be set aside for inconsequential irregularities. In the Constitutional Court, AllPay wants the SCA's decision set aside.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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Concourt to hear tender case

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