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Future of social security payments inches forward

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 28 Nov 2017
Jeff Radebe, minister in the presidency and chairperson of the IMC.
Jeff Radebe, minister in the presidency and chairperson of the IMC.

Government's Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Comprehensive Social Security says it is making progress in overseeing the implementation of the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) directive to deliver details of a new social grants payments plan.

This month, the ConCourt instructed the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to deliver a comprehensive plan by 8 December detailing how it will pay more than 17 million grant recipients.

According to Jeff Radebe, IMC chairperson and minister in the presidency, the government committee remains committed to be guided by the ConCourt order.

"The IMC will deliberate on issues raised by the panel of experts once the Constitutional Court has pronounced on the report. On 21 November 2017, it presented to the portfolio committee on its progress."

Radebe's reassurances come on the back of reports that revealed the hefty price-tag attached to the South African Post Office (SAPO) proposal to take over payment of SASSA grants.

City Press reported at the weekend that the panel of experts, appointed to monitor the phasing out of Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) to make way for a new services provider, raised red flags over costs SASSA will incur in implementing a SAPO solution.

The panel, which includes former South African Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus, was initiated in terms of the ConCourt order.

According to the newspaper, the panel of experts pointed out that the proposed charge per recipient is 49% higher than the current CPS charge.

CPS has annual operating costs of R1.8 billion, while SAPO says it needs R2.8 billion in year one - an amount which is also expected to escalate by year five, revealed City Press.

Sustainable solutions

Radebe pointed out that a lot has been done to find a sustainable solution for the payment of social grants in the country, which includes the establishment of a technical committee to finalise the agreement between SASSA and SAPO.

CPS has continued to distribute social grants to more than 10 million SASSA beneficiaries following the year-long extension of its contract by the ConCourt in March.

The CPS contract, which was declared invalid in 2014, would have come to an end on 31 March. The ConCourt, however, suspended the invalidity so grants could continue to be paid while SASSA made another plan for 1 April 2018.

Last week, the IMC presented an implementation protocol towards finding a collaborative agreement for a new distributor of social grants.

This plan was presented after SASSA and SAPO failed to find a working solution in relation to the distribution of social grants, which required the intervention of the IMC.

According to the government committee, the two entities concluded and signed an implementation protocol that will allow the post office to take over the payment of social grants.

"The implementation protocol is accompanied by an overarching implementation plan, which identifies various critical steps required to ensure the payments of grants by 1 April 2018.

"A detailed project plan will be presented to the IMC on 6 December and to the panel of experts assembled by the Constitutional Court by 8 December."

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