Judgment expected in Sassa issue

The Constitutional Court will hand down judgment in the social grants case this morning. Rights group Black Slash brought an urgent application asking the court to play an oversight role in the payment crisis. In 2012, the South African Social Security Agency contracted Cash Paymaster Services to distribute social grants to some 17 million beneficiaries. The Constitutional Court declared that contract, which ends on March 31, invalid. In 2015 Sassa told the court it would not award a new contract but would take over payment responsibilities itself from April this year. When it became apparent the agency was not able to perform the function, it wanted to contract CPS again. Meanwhile president Jacob Zuma says he cannot axe social development minister Bathabile Dlamini before she has made a mistake. Zuma fielded several questions from opposition MPs in Parliament yesterday on Dlamini’s future, amid the debacle over the payment of social grants.