Daily Dispatch

Sassa saga: Dlamini under scrutiny

- By NOMAHLUBI JORDAAN

THE Constituti­onal Court says allegation­s that Social Developmen­t Minister Bathabile Dlamini appointed workstream­s‚ as contained in Sassa chief executive Thokozani Magwaza’s affidavit‚ are “very serious” and will determine whether she acted in good faith or not.

“These are serious allegation­s. If it is correct that the minister appointed the members of the workstream­s 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‚” said Justice Johan Froneman in a judgment handed down yesterday.

The court found 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 is in itself sufficient to conclude that she acted in bad faith or‚ at the very least‚ in flagrant disregard of her statutory and constituti­onal obligation­s.”

In its ruling‚ the court found that Dlamini’s conduct regarding the workstream­s issue needed to be resolved before a final decision was made.

The court directed that an inquiry be set up “in order to determine the issues relating to the minister’s role in the establishm­ent of the workstream­s”.

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 detailed how she had discharged her duties as minister.

She blamed Sassa officials for the grants crisis‚ but the agency’s chief executive‚ Thokozani Magwazi‚ and former director-general‚ Zane Dangor‚ disputed her version of events.

The Black Sash Trust approached the court in March after 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. — TMG

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