Social department misses deadline for grant payout system

THE Department of Social Development and the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) have missed another deadline to implement their social grant payout system.

This has raised questions over whether they will be ready to take over grant payments in April.

Yesterday, Sassa and the department appeared before parliament’s portfolio committee on social development to update them on progress with regards to implementing their own system to pay out social grants beneficiaries.

They are currently being paid out by a third party provider, CPS, but the Constitutional Court ruled that contract invalid, and allowed it to run until it expires at the end of March next year.

The Constitutional Court discharged its supervisory role last November, on condition that seven key areas of the project were delivered within the timelines outlined by the department in their updates.

The new payment system will have to be up and running by April 1.

The department came under heavy fire from MPs who said the plan outlined for them was vague, with ANC MP Solomon Mabilo calling it “wishy-washy” and an “insult”.

The verification of fingerprint data for beneficiaries was meant to have been completed by October, but has been extended to next October while a pilot of a web-based application supposed to be piloted between March and June and fully implemented by August has also not been completed.

Social development director-general, Zane Dangor, admitted they had not approached the Constitutional Court yet to let them know they were behind schedule.

Project lead Zodwa Mfulani told the committee “we are fixing this car as it goes”.

Dangor said the contract as well as the process of phasing in a new system and phasing out the old one, presented a “legal minefield”.

He however said that payments would go ahead on April 1.