social grants

Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini is expected to face Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts on Tuesday, to discuss the impending social grants crisis.

In April 2014, the Constitutional Court instructed the Department of Social Development to take over the payments of grants by the end of March 2017, after it found irregularities in the appointment of CPS, the company responsible for grants distribution. It declared the contract invalid, but suspended the order until a new arrangement had been made.

Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), a subsidiary of US-based Net1 UEPS Technologies, will have the upper hand to negotiate for a bigger slice of the pie following an admission by social development minister Bathibile Dlamini that government is in talks to extend the current social grant payments contract.

Social grant payments are administered and distributed by CPS after it was awarded a five-year, R10 billion tender in January 2012.

Social security agency SASSA has again warned that a new card scam has emerged as the festive season draws nearer.

The new scam involves beneficiaries receiving an sms saying that they needed to change their SASSA card to a new one.

Speaking on Morning Live Head of Communications at the agency, Paseka Letsatsi says there is no new card for SASSA and they are investigating the scam.

Electronic payments company Net1 UEPS Technologies has more time to continue carrying out a social grant tender amid a Constitutional Court decision to suspend a bidding deadline.

In April last year, the Constitutional Court ordered that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) re-issue the country’s R10 billion grant tender, which was awarded to Net1 division Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) in 2012.

Talks are under way in government to possibly extend child grants for needy children from 18 years of age to 23.

According to City Press newspaper, the proposal has been met with mixed reaction, with some roleplayers welcoming it and others questioning the timing of the move and saying that such a step will make people that much more dependent on government.

Lumka Oliphant, spokesperson for the minister of social development, Bathabile Dlamini, responded to enquiries by saying no policy decision had yet been taken, but Dlamini had begun talks about the issue.

The Department of Social Development says just under 16 million South Africans are receiving some form of social security grant from government last year.
 
In response to a parliamentary question, Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini, pointed out that this cost government more than R109 billion during 2013/14.
 
According to the department, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) provides grants including old age, war veterans, disability, grant-in-aid, care dependency, foster care, and child support.
 

A new report by the World Bank has described South Africa's child support grant system as the most generous in the continent.
 
The ‘State of Social Safety Nets 2014’ states that South Africa spends about 3.4 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on social safety nets.
 
The report, which defines social safety nets as regular and predictable transfers in cash or in-kind to poor and vulnerable people, also cites an example of Indonesia, which spends 2.6 percent of its gross national product (GNP) on fuel subsidies.
 

According to an article by Asha Speckman, it could not get much worse for Net1 UEPS Technologies, which faces the wrath of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) over unlawful charges for airtime and loans that the service provider has been deducting from the monthly payout to beneficiaries under its R10 billion social grant tender.

Net1 shares went into free-fall following the ruling, dropping 28 percent to R70 during intraday trade on the JSE, before recouping some of the losses to end the session down 12.76 percent at R85.50.

The Department of Social Development says the names of bogus grant beneficiaries will be handed over to the fraud unit of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

In a written reply to a parliamentary question, Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini, said this will happen after the department has completed the overhauling of its social grant database.

Dlamini confirmed what Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, assenting the National Budget 2014/15 that more than a million ‘invalid beneficiaries’ have been removed from the grant system.

Legal action is being considered against Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) over an alleged scam, declared Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini.
 
Dlamini states that, "We are going to meet the lawyers and see what other possible means we can use to ensure that we move forward."
 
CPS was allegedly deducting money from grant beneficiaries illegally. The legal action included possibly terminating the multi-billion rand grants distribution contract.