Get back the money

THE IFP has taken note of the Constitutional Court ruling granting Sassa (the South Africa Social Security Agency) another extension of the unlawful contract it holds with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS).

It is truly shocking and unforgivable that due to years of maladministration and the sheer incompetence of the former minister of social development, Bathabile Dlamini, in handling the grant payment system; the highest court in the land has once again been apparently forced to approve the extension of this unlawful contract.

It is our hope that the Constitutional Court will find the former minister personally liable for the grant crisis she clearly manufactured to favour CPS.

The IFP also applauds another court ruling in which CPS has been ordered to repay the State more than R300 million it unlawfully obtained.

Finally, we reiterate our call for law enforcement agencies and Parliament to urgently launch a fullscale investigation and inquiry into the seemingly corrupt relationship between CPS, Sassa and the department.

CPS should be made to pay back the millions it has already unlawfully deducted from grant recipients. It should face the full might of the law and should not be allowed to run away with the billions it earned from the State, while holding an unlawful contract.

If the Ramaphosa administration is serious about delivering on a new dawn, seeking justice for the millions of vulnerable South Africans that the Zuma administration allowed to be fleeced by CPS should be their first priority. Liezl van der Merwe, MP IFP spokesperson on social development