Dlamini angered by ex-CEO’s evidence

She denied allegations of sidelining him as grants debacle rages

SOCIAL Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini has shot down former SA Social Security Services (Sassa) chief executive Thokozani Magwaza’s evidence, denying allegations she sidelined him as the grants debacle raged on.

Richard Solomon, for Magwaza, asked her to comment on Magwaza’s statement that she told him to focus on daily operations at Sassa and not concern himself with the work of the contentious workstreams.

“How can I say that to a CEO?” asked a visibly irritated Dlamini.

There was documented evidence containing Magwaza’s signatures and hers showing meetings between all executives and the workstreams appointment to help Sassa take over social grants payments.

“There are signatures all over documents signed by Magwaza and I… I don’t understand why all the blame is shifted on me,” she said.

Dlamini said Magwaza failed to liaise with her and even filed an affidavit in the Constitutional Court without her knowledge.

She further denied that she had known since 2015 that Sassa would not meet the 2017 deadline to take over grants payments from Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), whose contract was ruled invalid by the Constitutional Court.

She said she became aware that the April 1, 2017 deadline would not be met after reading an article in 2016 reporting on the issue, and also heard from the workstreams at a meeting in October 2016 that the deadline was out of reach.

Dlamini said she called the October meeting with the workstreams when she realised there was no progress made.

Dlamini and Magwaza had been at loggerheads over the work done by the workstreams as the social grants crisis became imminent. Magwaza then filed an affidavit in the Constitutional Court disputing Dlamini’s claims in court that sought to lay blame on the Sassa executives.

The former chief executive said the affidavit was his personal account and it was meant to “set the record straight” that Dlamini knew as far back as July 2015 that Sassa would not able to take over the grant payments. – African News Agency /ANA