Former Sassa boss hopes for speedy inquiry into grants saga

Thokozani Magwaza, former CEO of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), hopes the judicial commission of inquiry into Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini’s role in the social grants crisis is wrapped up by the end of 2017.

Magwaza said this in an interview with Business Day. However, he could not comment on the inquiry nor the appointment of Judge Bernard Ngoepe to head the commission, saying the matter was sub judice. But he warned a drawnout process could negatively affect Sassa’s phasing out of Cash Paymaster Services (CPS).

DA spokeswoman on social development Bridget Masango said she hoped the creation of an independent inquiry structure would ensure Sassa’s work was not affected.

This work included the development of plans to remove CPS from the distribution of social grants by March 2018.

She welcomed Ngoepe’s appointment, but said she remained concerned about Dlamini’s role in the crisis.

“Anyone who is prepared to go as far as dragging social grant payments into the Constitutional Court by egregious delaying tactics will always be a concern,” said Masango.

The inquiry is tasked with determining whether or not the minister misled the court about the extent of her responsibility for the social grants crisis in March 2017.

At stake are legal costs, incurred by the parties to the court action, which will run to millions of rand. It is also possible the costs of the Ngoepe inquiry will be added to that bill.

The focus of Ngoepe’s work is expected to be on the role played by the “workstreams” that operated within Sassa and were accountable to the minister. Sources within Sassa say the workstreams, installed by Dlamini in 2013, functioned in parallel to Sassa.

The workstreams’ staff, which had been appointed without Treasury authorisation, were working on a five-year plan to replace CPS until they were fired by Magwaza days before he was forced out. Their plan, which has been presented to parliamentary portfolio meetings, envisages a private sector company replacing CPS.

The plan being developed by Sassa employees envisages a central role being played by the Post Office.

Corruption Watch’s David Lewis said the inquiry provided an excellent opportunity for the minister to be cross-examined on some critical issues.