More strife for Dlamini at Concourt
Judge orders inquiry to determine her role in setting up of work streams
ALLEGATIONS that Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini appointed work streams‚ as contained in Sassa chief executive Thokozani Magwaza’s affidavit‚ are very serious and will determine whether she acted in good faith or not, the Constitutional Court says.
“These are serious allegations,” Justice Johan Froneman said in a judgment handed down yesterday.
“If it is correct that the minister appointed the members of the work streams and that they reported directly to her in contravention of governance protocol‚ then her failure to disclose this to the court bears strongly on whether she acted in good faith or not.”
The court found that it could not make an order adverse to Dlamini on the basis of allegations that were untested and which she had not had an opportunity to challenge.
It was argued in written submissions‚ however‚ that her own undisputed version was in itself sufficient to conclude that she had acted in bad faith or‚ at the very least‚ in flagrant disregard of her statutory and constitutional obligations.
In its ruling‚ the court found Dlamini’s conduct regarding the work streams issue needed to be resolved before a final decision was made.
It directed that an inquiry be set up to determine the issues relating to the minister’s role in the establishment of the work streams.
All parties involved in the matter are to report back to court within 14 days on whether they have agreed to a process.
Yesterday’s Constitutional Court decision follows an earlier ruling‚ which ordered Dlamini to explain why she should not be held personally liable for legal costs incurred from an earlier application around the social grants debacle.
In her affidavit‚ Dlamini said she should not be made to pay and blamed Sassa officials for the crisis. The Black Sash Trust approached the court in March after the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) acknowledged it would not be able to pay millions of grants from April 1‚ despite promising the court in November 2015 it would do so.