Social development minister Bathabile Dlamini on Wednesday declined to tell an inquiry why she thought two of her most trusted officials apparently hid a looming crisis from her for months. Dlamini has persistently blamed two different officials, then social development director-general Zane Dangor and then CEO of the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) Thokozani Magwaza,..
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Bathabile Dlamini (SASSA) will not say why ‘trusted’ subordinates too kept her in the dark
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‘Unresponsive and evasive’ Dlamini doesn’t ‘like to be pushed around’
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The inquiry into social development minister Bathabile Dlamini’s role in the social grants saga got off to a shaky start on Tuesday as she was accused of being “unresponsive and evasive”. Counsel for the Black Sash Trust‚ Geoff Budlender SC‚ grilled Dlamini on the procurement process of the leaders of the workstreams she had established..
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Bathabile Dlamini’s former advisor accuses her of thwarting ConCourt ruling
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One of Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini’s closest aides has accused her of trying to thwart the Constitutional Court’s rulings on Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) in a revealing affidavit filed with the high court in Pretoria. Sipho Shezi was Dlamini’s full-time adviser from 2013 until she fired him last year. He had worked with Zane..
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Sassa wants CPS for 6 more months
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The invalid Cash Payment Services (CPS) contract may be extended for a further six months if the South African Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) gets its way — yet the Constitutional Court ruled that the contract is to end on March 31. The extension is contained in the latest Sassa report to the Constitutional Court, filed less..
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The Sassa-Sapo grants deal: All the details revealed
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Grant recipients finally have a deal that will ensure they are paid without their personal information being shared and the Post Office (Sapo) will score just over R2.2-billion a year, says the agreement between SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) and Sapo. The service agreement, which is the principal agreement between them, was signed in Pretoria..
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New social grant payment system unveiled
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In with the new‚ out with the old. The SA Social Security Agency and the SA Post Office have reached a landmark agreement to usher in a new social grant payment system that will see recipients getting their grants from banks‚ various merchants and spaza shops. The agreement was finalised on November 17 and the..
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ConCourt wants Sassa to explain alternative grants payment scheme
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The Constitutional Court has asked the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) to provide reasons why an alternative payment scheme, recently suggested by its expert panel, is feasible. The alternative payments scheme was suggested two weeks ago by the expert panel set up by Sassa and Black Sash under the supervision of the court. In..
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Treasury senior official calls it quits as Zuma takeover looms
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Michael Sachs, the head of the budgeting office at the national treasury, has reportedly resigned because of interference in its budgeting process by the presidency. The Business Day newspaper reported on Monday morning that “a joint team from the treasury and the Office of the president” are searching for R40-billion in expenditure cuts from the..
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Treasury letter – Sassa should not have disqualified Post Office
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A letter by National Treasury to acting South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) CEO Pearl Bhengu says the agency should not have disqualified the South African Post Office (SAPO) from three possible services in the social grants scheme. Treasury was given a week last Wednesday to review all the deal points of the then-collapsing deal..
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Sassa and Sapo agreement date pushed back yet again
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The striking of the elusive deal between the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the South African Post Office (Sapo) has been pushed back yet again. MP’s at a joint meeting in Parliament on Tuesday heard that an offer to the Post Office to build an integrated IT payment system for a new “hybrid”..
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SASSA Unlikely To Meet Grant Payments Takeover Deadline, Says Panel
Foster grants system is about to collapse – Bathabile Dlamini’s next national embarrassment?
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The department of social development may find itself in a similar situation with foster care grants as it did earlier in 2017 when it missed the Constitutional Court’s deadline to take over the payment of social grants. According to GroundUp, thousands of foster care placement orders will expire on December 31, which means that the..
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SASSA IRREGULAR EXPENDITURE GROWS TO R1.4 BILLION
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In Sassa’s latest financial statements tabled in Parliament on Friday, the Auditor General says the agency did not take effective steps to prevent the irregular expenditure. The Auditor General has deemed the R43 million spent by the South Africa Social Security Agency (Sassa) on so-called work streams to have been irregular. In Sassa’s latest financial..
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NEW SASSA CEO’S INDEPENDENCE ALREADY QUESTIONED – FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
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Insiders at Sassa have reportedly labelled Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini’s relationship with Bhengu as problematic, questioning her independence. Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini and the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) are back in the spotlight with reports on Friday morning that Sassa’s new acting CEO Pearl Bhengu is in business with Dlamini’s daughter…
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TEENAGERS SHOULD ENJOY THEMSELVES WHILE THEY CAN -TEEN PREGNANCY IS NOT A PROBLEM – REVEALS MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION
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Saying that most teenage girls in South African schools are already engaging in sexual activities, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga revealed on Thursday afternoon that the rate of young girls falling pregnant while they are still in school increases every year. “The situation is getting worse every year and we have realised there is..
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