Dlamini ignored legal advice, grants inquiry told

unauthorised persons were aware of any senior appointments “before such appointments were formally made and/or announced, and if so, whether the president or any member of the national executive is responsible for such conduct”.

Also in the spotlight will be the alleged unlawful awarding of state-owned entity tenders to benefit the Guptas or other families, individuals or organs of state, and if these involved the president, ministers past or present or their deputies.

The commission also has to probe “the nature and extent of corruption, if any, in the awarding of contracts, tenders to companies, business entities or organisations by public entities…”

Irregularities, undue enrichment, graft and undue influence in awarding contracts, mining licences, government advertising in the New Age newspaper and other Gupta businesses that may have improperly benefited from government contracts will also be investigated.

The role of the national executive, including deputy ministers, in “unlawfully, corruptly or improperly” intervening in the closure of Gupta bank accounts will also to be scrutinised. Also “whether any advisers in the finance ministry were appointed without proper procedure” will be probed. – African News Agency/ANA SOCIAL Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini ignored legal advice that she immediately inform the Constitutional Court on the South African Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) imminent failure to meet the deadline to take over grant payments from Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), forcing rights groups Black Sash to approach the court, an inquiry into the grants crisis heard.

Vincent Maleka, for former social development director-general, and Dlamini’s adviser Zane Dangor, told the inquiry advocate Nazeer Cassim presented the legal opinion to Dlamini in 2016.

‘’What Mr Cassim was suggesting was that if the court is not told about the possibility that Sassa would not meet the deadline, an impression would be created that the Constitutional Court was being deceived.

“I take it you did appreciate that view when you read Mr Cassim’s opinion in October 2016?’’ said Maleka.

Dlamini said she agreed with Maleka on the legal advice.

She added she had received the legal advice and it was decided that the work streams “consolidate their plan” as the crisis raged on. – African News Agency (ANA)