Minister backs Sassa payment tender suspension

Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu has defended the South African Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) decision to suspend the tender for the cash payments to 2.5 million social grant beneficiaries. Shabangu said the suspension was due to “challenges” with the tender. The tender is to replace Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), which will be phased out in September after its contract was extended for six months by the Constitutional Court.

Briefing the social development portfolio committee yesterday, Shabangu said the tender was suspended on March 23, and the Constitutional Court was notified last Monday. “We did that because there were challenges. When we identify the challenges, we cannot just watch and fold our arms, because that was to make us to be in court for­ ever,” Shabangu said. “We want to get out of court. We want to run Sassa without being managed by courts,” she said. Shabangu would not say what the challenges were, other than to say: “It is correct when you identify a problem, you act on it.”

It was previously reported that the suspension was to allow an adequate period for Sassa to consider the appointment of individuals with knowledge and expertise to evaluate the technical aspects of the bids. The minister was adamant that a new contract would be in place before September. “We really want to comply with the court. We are not looking for an extension from the court, because we are saying we want to comply,” she said. The matter was sparked by questions from MPs about reports Sassa officials were forcing beneficiaries to open bank accounts, especially in the Eastern Cape.

Committee chairperson Zoleka Capa said Sassa officials in Mbizana were threatening not to serve beneficiaries unless they opened bank accounts. Capa said the officials announced at an outreach program­me for the Ingquza Hill Municipality that there would be no paypoints because no new contractor had been appointed. She said the move was a ploy to take “unbankable” beneficiaries back to the banks by force. The DA’s Bridget Masango said the move was ill-advised, and that it fed into the reports that Shabangu suspended the payment contract tender.

“People must be given a fair opportunity to do what they would like and get money from where they would like it, not be forced to do one thing and not the other,” Masango said. Shabangu apologised for whatever happened in the disbursement of social grants. However, she said there was no confusion with the payment of grants. “Confusion is done deliberately. There are people who want to sabotage us and who don’t want this process to be successful.” Shabangu said beneficiaries would still receive their grants via banks, merchants and paypoints.

“It is unacceptable for people to be told to go and open bank accounts,” she said, adding that the matter would be investigated. Shabangu also distanced Sassa and the department from the R10 charged from beneficiaries by Grindrod for using their social grant cards.