Sassa CEO speaks out on grants crisis, insists Bathabile Dlamini blocked him
Stress and high blood pressure from the grants crisis led to the hospitalisation of the Sassa CEO, Thokozani Magwaza.
SASSA CEO Thokozani Magwaza.
While he has been placed on sick leave owing to ill health and stress related to the grants crisis, Magwaza has finally spoken out, detailing how Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini allegedly and intentionally blocked him from reporting back to the Constitutional Court about the payment of grants.
According to City Press, Magwaza was ready to communicate with the court and seek counsel regarding the grants but Dlamini interfered, stopping him from doing so through her lawyers. At the end of this month, CPS’s contract with government expires, leaving questions about how 17 million South Africans will be paid pensions, disability and child care grants, among others.
Magwaza told City Press Dlamini blocked legal papers from being filed three times, a research report covering Sassa’s inability to take over from CPS was withheld from him, Dlamini instructed Sassa staff to take orders from her attorney and plans to have the SA Post Office get involved were bulldozed while Magwaza was victimised for suggesting a 12-month contract be drafted for CPS instead of a 24- or 36-month contract.
According to Magwaza, he met with the minister in Cape Town and it was agreed he was going to file an affidavit. Instead, he was ordered to make last-minute changes to the document and was eventually told by Dlamini’s chief of staff and attorneys to not file.
“I kept quiet during the meeting because I was pertubed with what was taking place. So the papers were not filed. I was not happy but I kept quiet because the minister had taken over,” said Magwaza.
Sunday Times reports that Magwaza and acting CEO Thamo Mzobe were hospitalised within days of each other due to stress-related illnesses. This was a result of Dlamini pushing for a contract with CPS to be signed.
On Friday, President Jacob Zuma said all grants would be paid by April 1.
Zuma said he had a meeting with Dlamini and the minister of finance, Pravin Gordhan, to come up with a solution for the social grants debacle.
Dlamini, who appeared in parliament on Tuesday before the standing committee on public accounts, admitted that she had yet to secure the approval of National Treasury to sign a new contract with CPS.
However, Zuma told journalists that people should be calm because grants would definitely be paid on April 1.
The president said if grants were not paid, action would be taken against those responsible.
“I think the country should be calm on this matter…I’ve instructed two ministers to make sure that it happens,” he said.
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