Sassa withdraws Concourt contract extension application – another on the way

The South Africa Social Security Agency has withdrawn its Constitutional Court application asking for an extension of a social grants distribution contract it invalidated in 2014.

“The reason at the moment is the fact that there were... inputs not included‚” Sassa spokesman Kgomotso Diseko said. “It’s going to be relodged.”

However‚ Diseko could not say when this would happen.

The agency had lodged an urgent application on Tuesday asking the court to allow it to enter into another year-long contract with Cash Payment Services (CPS).

In its papers‚ the agency admitted it did not have the capacity to distribute social grants. Payments would be in jeopardy from April 1 if the court turned down the urgent application. The agency conceded that its efforts to petition the Treasury for a condonation had fallen flat.

Sassa has also ruled out all other options presented as alternatives to distribute the social grants‚ including roping in the country’s major banks‚ insisting on a CPS contract extension.

This came after agency officials admitted in parliament the agency had no plan to distribute more than 17-million social grants to more than 11-million beneficiaries‚ other than to extend Net 1 subsidiary CPS’ contract.

A Sassa delegation is due to meet Net 1 CEO Serge Belamant on Wednesday to discuss the terms of a contract extension while Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini is giving a briefing on the matter on the same day.