Ramaphosa says grants will be paid to 17 million
DEPUTY President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured Parliament the wheels will not come off on the payments of grants at the beginning of April.
He said the government would ensure that all 17 million grant beneficiaries would be paid.
Ramaphosa, who was answering questions from MPs in the National Assembly yesterday, said the matter was being addressed by the government.
IFP MP Liezl van der Merwe wanted to know what action would be taken by the government to prevent any glitches when the contract with Cash Paymaster Services expires at the end of this month.
Van der Merwe said there had been no certainty from the government on the payment of grants to the 17 million beneficiaries.
Ramaphosa emphasised that this was an important matter.
“One of the really good things about our democracy is that it allows us to raise matters of national interest. The Sassa matter is being addressed,” said Ramaphosa.
“The Armageddon that you are talking about will be avoided. We will make sure the 17 million people who rely on grants will be paid,” he said.
Ramaphosa said everything possible was being done to ensure payments to the beneficiaries at the beginning of next month.
He said the government would not fold its arms and leave grant beneficiaries in the lurch.
“We are going to make sure the wheels don’t come off. When we address this matter, the minister will come here and address you on the steps being taken. We will not allow this matter to come to the wall,” said Ramaphosa.
Opposition MPs have been cautioning the government to intervene and prevent a potential crisis.
However, Ramaphosa reiterated they would ensure everything was in order on April 1.
This week, Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini defended her decision not to appear before the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on the issue of grants.
However, Scopa said it still wanted to meet her and deal with the matter.
Van der Merwe told Ramaphosa that the government had waited until the last minute to resolve this crisis.
She said the Constitutional Court made its decision on the Sassa contract with Paymaster a few years ago, but it was only now that the government was beginning to move.
Ramaphosa said the matter was receiving the necessary attention. There was no need to believe that it would not be addressed, he added.
He said everything was being done to fix the problem and it would be resolved by the end of the month and the beneficiaries paid in April.