Sassa invites Constitutional Court’s ire over grant payments

Constitutional Court justices on Tuesday were frustrated with the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) for once again approaching them at the last minute to try avoid a social grants crisis.

Sassa has approached the court in a bid to have its unlawful contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) extended for a further six months.

The application was lodged in February, a little more than a month before the deadline for Sassa to end its relationship with CPS.

Sassa has argued that the extension is needed in order to cater for cash payments of social grants to 2.5-million beneficiaries.

The South African Post Office will take over the payment of social grants once the CPS contract ends, but has said it needs time to phase in services to take over the payments.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng asked advocate Nazeem Cassim, for Sassa, when the agency had realised it would need to extend the CPS contract, to which he replied, on December 8 2017.

However, he said Sassa at the time was focusing on the tender for the payment of cash and "genuinely believed they could get their act together".

Cassim said the Post Office had also not been given the resources by National Treasury needed to take over the payments.

Mogoeng did not accept this explanation and again asked why Sassa had not approached the court in December, when it could have asked questions that could have led to another solution.

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said there appeared to be a pattern which showed that Sassa or the Department of Social Development were not dealing with this matter with the urgency it deserved.

Justice Johan Froneman said by approaching the court at the last minute, Sassa gave them no choice but to grant the extension.

He asked Cassim what would happen if the court did not grant the extension of the CPS contract.

Cassim said "there will be chaos". He also said Sassa had no alternative plan.

Justice Sis Khampepe said it was concerning that Sassa was not able to get its affairs in order.

She said Sassa came to the court almost "blackmailing" it, saying beneficiaries would suffer if it did not grant the application.