Bathabile’s day of reckoning

In less than a month Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini will be facing Judge Bernard Ngoepe to answer to the allegation that, when she appointed workstreams that would report directly to her, she created a parallel process that led to the grants payment crisis.

According to her statement filed to Ngoepe, and which the Mail & Guardian has seen, Dlamini sticks to her claim that she did everything in her power to ensure that the crisis would be avoided.

The workstreams were meant to establish the most efficient way for the South African

Social Security Agency (Sassa) to pay social grants yet produced reports lauding the Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) system as the best.

In her statement — which appears to be riddled with contradictions — Dlamini asserts that the Sassa Act gives her sweeping powers to hire and fire chief executives who carry out functions under her direction and to her approval.

In her six years in control of the agency there have been six chief executives.

“Sassa may only enter into an agreement ... with my consent. The CEO [chief executive officer] is responsible for the management of Sassa, subject to my direction. My role requires a measure of involvement in the day-to-day operations of Sassa,” reads her statement.

Yet a few paragraphs further on she denies having any knowledge of how the workstreams were appointed by Sassa — despite the fact that they emanated from a ministerial advisory committee she established in 2013.

Dlamini says she only advised Sassa which workstream leaders should be appointed but did not interfere with the bid adjudication committee that selected the workstream leaders.

“It is true that I directed that the specified workstream leaders be appointed by Sassa ... It is correct that I instructed that the specified individuals be appointed to lead the workstreams,” reads her statement.

She denies having any involvement in the bid adjudication process yet in subsequent paragraphs she admits having advised the previous chief executive, Virginia Petersen, on the process Sassa should follow in appointing the workstream members.

Most likely to raise eyebrows is how she says that she believed the work of the workstreams was urgent — and yet for months claims she had no idea what they were doing.

Dlamini also asserts she was made aware that Sassa would not meet the April 2017 deadline of appointing a new service provider at a meeting in October 2016, but puts the onus of responsibility on Sassa executives.

Yet her own submission states: “I believed it necessary that I keep abreast of the developments in the workstreams and the progress within Sassa to realise the objectives of bringing social assistance payment services inhouse. To this end, I frequently liaised with Ms Mvulane [project leader of workstreams] in order to get progress updates.”

Ngoepe is likely to seek answers on all the seeming contradictions in her statement when the inquiry sits on January 22. —