The wrath of the judiciary

Dbefore. case. ling it. duty. ISPLAYING the wisdom of Solomon, the Constitutional Court yesterday averted what could have potentially been this coun- try’s worst crisis in 22 years by granting the controversial Cash Paymaster Services ( CPS) a 12-month contract to continue to payout social wel- fare grants. Had it not done so, but kept to its original deci- sion of almost three years ago, 17 million people would have been left destitute come April 1, their grants unpaid because the original contract given to CPS – under duress – would have expired the day But this extension comes with terms and con- sequences, chief among which is the return of the South African Social Services Agency to court supervision, with three-monthly report backs and the onus upon Social Development Minister Bath- abile Dlamini to show cause why she should not be saddled with the legal bill for this week’s court There are some who would have thought Chief Justice Moegoeng Moegoeng’s excoriating com- ments on her conduct faithfully relayed by media across all platforms would have been punishment enough. Now, though, she faces possible bankruptcy, a signal of just how appalled our country’s highest court has been about her conduct, even if her col- leagues remain adamant in public at least that she has done nothing wrong. This week was another high water mark in the life of the Constitutional Court, stepping in to fulfil its sacred duty to the constitution, often to the chagrin of those who seem hell bent on dismant- If it stands accused of governing the country by default, then that can only be because those who are supposed to be governing are derelict in their