Let pigeons pay grants, CEO says
THE chief executive of Net1 has dared the government to use pigeons to pay social grants next month.
Speaking outside the Constitutional Court in Braamfontein yesterday, Serge Lambent, the chief executive of Net1 subsidiary of Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), said his company was the only one with the capacity to pay grants.
He said unless the government could send “pigeons to fly around” and deliver the cash, no one else could make the payments.
Belamant said: “We are not unreasonable people... one thing we have proven is that we can do the job. Another point is, is there anybody who can step in our shoes?
“The answer is no, except for the post office or the pigeons they can use to, you know... fly money around. But apart from these, who else is available?”
Yesterday, the Constitutional Court heard an application by the Black Sash for the reinstatement of the court’s oversight role over how social grants are paid. The current contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) was found to be illegal in 2014, and expires at the end of this month.
All Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng wanted to know was why the grant crisis happened, and why Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini should not be held personally liable.
Justice Mogoeng wanted to know why Dlamini and the South Africa Social Security Agency (Sassa) did not approach the court on time when they realised they could not administer grant payments. Justice Mogoeng called the social grant debacle a “crisis”.
“She is a minister to ensure that beneficiaries receive their social grants,” he said.
He also wanted to know why Dlamini and the department did not approach the court last year when they realised they would not be able to pay the grants themselves.
“I genuinely want to understand. How we got to this level that can be characterised as an absolute incompetence?” Justice Mogoeng asked.
Pushed for answers, Andrew Breitenbach, who was representing Dlamini and the department, said: “I don’t know.”
He said that his clients needed an 18-month contract extension with CPS to set up a competitive bidding
process and introduce a new contractor.
Justice Mogoeng asked that if paying grants was the department’s core business, why was it not able to take over payments?
Dlamini and the department this week missed at least two deadlines set by the Concourt regarding the matter.
While CPS argued that it wanted a new contract to be granted before it could follow through on its constitutional obligation to pay grants, the Post Office said it was ready to take over the service.
CPS said time was running out and the company needed at least 12 days to process payments to grant recipients.
CPS legal counsel Alfred Cockrell said: “If someone is available to offer the services, we are ready to step back.
“If not, my clients require a contract with Sassa. Otherwise, they will be unable to do this without a contract.”
Asked how much the new proposed contract would cost Sassa, Cockrell said: “The payment is a lump sum per month and not a payment per beneficiary.”
When asked for a figure, he could not offer one at hand, but he said the court would receive amounts once the contract had been signed.
The South African Post Office said it only needed one month to be ready to pay social grants.
The Post Office said that, like Cash Paymaster Services, it would outsource services like security, but would be able to pay grants.
Advocate Aslam Bava, on behalf of the Post Office, said it was ready to pay out grants.
Bava said the government entity had experience in this field because it was already paying 500 000 beneficiaries in the Eastern Cape.
He said the Post Office successfully ran 12 million accounts through PostBank, which was in the process of applying to become a commercial bank.
The Post Office would charge R20 per beneficiary. Cash Paymaster Services was currently charging R16.44 per beneficiary.
“This is a national crisis and we cannot have a company hold us to ransom.
“If there is a government entity that can do the job, it (the Post Office) should be given a chance,” Bava said.
Justice Mogoeng raised concerns on whether the Post Office would be able to run the grant system without any glitches.
Bava said: “There is no room for excuses when dealing with 17 million people.
“One missed payment is disastrous.”
Advocate Geoff Budlender argued that the current contract between Sassa and Cash Paymaster Services should continue for six months under the current terms, while another one was being sought.
Outside the court, ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said it was up to the court to determine who was wrong in the Sassa grant saga.
Judgment has been reserved.