Dlamini grilled over Sassa denials
• Dangor’s counsel points to communications sent raising concern about parallel communications over Sassa
It has been inferred that Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini lied to the Constitutional Court and inquiry in order to avoid taking personal blame for the debacle in which the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) was unable to take over the payment of grants.
It has been inferred that Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini lied to the Constitutional Court and inquiry to avoid taking personal blame for the debacle in which the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) was unable to take over the payment of grants.
During cross-examination by advocate Vincent Maleka, for Dlamini’s former adviser and social development directorgeneral Zane Dangor, Maleka pointed to two communications his client had sent to Dlamini raising concern about parallel communications and processes that excluded officials from both Sassa and the department.
Dangor had raised these issues in an e-mail to Dlamini after a meeting he had attended and again in his resignation letter. He was concerned that work streams were producing documents parallel to those that were produced by a government technical team also dealing with the Sassa issue.
At the inquiry into whether she should be held personally liable for the debacle, Dlamini said no one had ever raised concerns with her about the controversial work streams appointed to help the agency.
Dlamini had appointed the work streams to help Sassa formulate a plan that would enable the agency to take over the administering of social grants by the April 1 2017 deadline.
That was after the Constitutional Court found that a contract with Cash Paymaster Services was illegal.
There have been allegations that the work streams existed in parallel with the functions of the department and the agency, and that they appear to have usurped the roles and responsibilities of Sassa officials.
Dlamini said neither Dangor nor former Sassa CEO Thokozani Magwaza had ever told her that they wanted to participate in the work streams, but that they were excluded.
Dlamini said she became aware of the concerns only when Dangor and Magwaza filed affidavits in the Constitutional Court in response to hers.
“So it must follow, minister, that you [had been] aware of Mr Dangor’s concerns before you read his affidavit,” Maleka told Dlamini.
In response, Dlamini, who has failed to answer simple questions directly during the inquiry, said this was a perception and that the issue had been addressed and a document prepared in December 2016.
“If there is a problem and you resolve it but people decide to remain on that position, what can you do? It was discussed in October and a submission [was] made in December and yet the same thing raises its head,” she said. While being questioned by her own legal representative, Ishmael Semenya, Dlamini pointed out that Dangor had raised issues with her only at the beginning of 2017 when he was director-general, but not before, when he was her adviser.
This was not the first time during the inquiry that Dlamini appeared to have contradicted herself while under oath.
On the first day of the inquiry, she said no one had ever raised concern with her about the work streams. But on Tuesday, she conceded that she had received a letter from Magwaza in which he had raised issues.
On Thursday, Dlamini was also grilled about why under her political leadership, it had taken Sassa months to inform the Constitutional Court that the agency could not take over the administering of social grants by the March 31 2017 deadline and why she kept information about the work streams out of her submissions to the court.
The minister was informed in October 2016 that Sassa would miss the deadline and even after two legal opinions and advice from Dangor and her special adviser Sipho Shezi, the court was not informed.
“Sassa under your watch did not follow the advice given by the lawyers,” Maleka said.
Magwaza is expected to start testifying on Friday.