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SASSA boss raises concerns over work-streams

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 09 May 2017
SASSA CEO Thokozani Magwaza.
SASSA CEO Thokozani Magwaza.

While the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) has expressed its intention to bring social grant payments in-house in the near future, it appears there may be some irregularities in the use of work-streams to achieve this.

Eyewitness News reports Thokozani Magwaza, SASSA CEO, has alluded that plans "to take over the payment of grants may not be above board".

"There's a process that's taking place with [National] Treasury. Treasury has just given us a letter on the regularity or the irregularity of the work-streams," Magwaza is quoted.

Magwaza's comments come in the wake of reports that work-streams, appointed by minister Bathabile Dlamini to determine how SASSA can take over payments, have racked up a bill of R40 million.

This is about 85% of the R47 million that was quoted for the project, Business Day reported.

SASSA and the social development ministry made headlines for failing to select a suitable payments distributor ahead of the expiration of the invalid contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS).

CPS has been the sole distributor of social grants since it was awarded the contract in 2012. In 2013, the contract was declared invalid by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) after it emerged irregular tendering processes were followed in the awarding of the tender.

SASSA, which is the entity in charge of social grants, was expected to take over payments when the invalid contract expired on 31 March. However, the agency failed to get its affairs in order to do so.

In March, the ConCourt was required to intervene once more and ruled the invalid contract with CPS would be extended for another year, in an effort to avert a social grants disaster that would affect more than 17 million citizens.

Meanwhile, National Treasury has agreed with the auditor-general (AG) that an additional payment of R316 million made by SASSA to CPS was irregular expenditure.

This was revealed in a written reply to Parliamentary questions from the Democratic Alliance.

Reports indicate the payment was allegedly made for the additional work CPS undertook for the re-registration of grant beneficiaries.

According to the reply, National Treasury was informed of the additional payment when there was a dispute between SASSA and the AG on whether the variation should have been reported to it or not.

The expenditure was later declared irregular expenditure by the AG, it reads.

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