ANC apologies for non-payment of grants will not put food on the table of the vulnerable

Today, the Cabinet extended their “sincere apology to all those who were negatively impacted” by SASSA’s migration to the new South African Post Office (SAPO) grant distribution system.

This half-hearted apology is a pathetic attempt by the ANC to divert attention away from Minister Susan Shabangu’s utter lack of leadership during this period of uncertainty and the government’s failure to properly oversee the migration process.

The ANC’s apologies mean nothing when people cannot feed their families, pay for transport or buy other necessities.

What the Cabinet failed to admit today, was that the new SAPO grant distribution system is in complete shambles.

On Wednesday, the DA visited the SASSA Office in Bronkhorstspruit, Pretoria and we can confirm that the SAPO grant distribution system is not working because they are “waiting for a word on the court order after last week’s shutdown”.

Last week, a court order compelled SASSA and the Public Service Association (PSA) to begin wage talks following the agency’s employees embarking on a strike action. Although the agency claimed the strike action would not have an impact on the new grants distribution system, the system has been marred by failures and beneficiaries not being able to access their money.

Make no mistake, if this is the case in Bronkhorstspruit, this is undoubtedly a national system failure.

Empty apologies and repeated assurances that the problems have been solved mean nothing when grant recipients, many of whom have no other source of income, are not being paid. Any delay in paying out social grants could be the difference between a family having a meal or not.

This past week, we have received alarming reports from SASSA employees that CPS continue to market their services to vulnerable beneficiaries. Worse, the company allegedly captured the personal details of beneficiaries onto its Grindrod system without their consent. The DA, therefore, welcomes SASSA’s decision to take legal action against CPS’ vile attempts to exploit beneficiaries. The parasitic CPS must be held responsible to the fullest extent of the law.

The DA strongly condemns the lack of leadership on the part of the ANC-government as it is on their watch social grant recipients have had to face uncertainty and frustrations.  We will continue to fight for beneficiaries to be treated with the dignity they deserve.

#SASSA leaves grant recipients hungry and stranded

The statement follows an oversight inspection to the SASSA pay point at Zolani Centre in Nyanga township by the DA Shadow Minister of Social Development, Bridget Masango MP, DA National Spokesperson, Solly Malatsi MP, and the DA Member of the NCOP on Social Development, Thandi Mpambo-Sibukwana MP. Please find a video here, pictures here and here and soundbites by Ms Masango in English and Ms Mpambo-Sibukwanahere in IsiXhosa

Today the DA visited the SASSA pay point at Zolani Centre in Nyanga, Cape Town. We met with social grant recipients who shared concerns about the new SASSA cash grants system. Last month, SASSA employees embarked on a strike which raised concerns on the impact it could have on the process of beneficiaries switching to new cards.

On Tuesday, these fears became a reality as reports surfaced that a number of cash grants recipients across the country have been turned away from pay points, as a result of “system failures”.

This was also confirmed by one beneficiary the DA spoke to at the Zolani Centre who told the DA that he was not able to access his grants at pay point because he still has his old card. The recipient was then directed to the South African Post Office (SAPO) where he still could not access their grants.

This is deeply concerning and despite repeated empty promises from successive Ministers of Social Developments who have claimed that grant recipients would still be able to access their grants until the old card expires on 30 September 2018.

Clearly, neither SASSA nor SAPO have been adequately prepared for the switch to the new system. Any delays in beneficiaries accessing their grants could have catastrophic consequences for the survival of poor families who rely on grants just to get by.

This crisis dates back to the time of former Minister of Social Development, Bathabile ‘Dodging’ Dlamini. It was due to her lack of leadership that SASSA stumbled from one crisis to the next. Her successor, Susan Shabangu, seems to have followed in her footsteps as she has not stepped up to take charge.

Grant recipients have now been dealt a double blow by the ANC-government. Not only are some beneficiaries not getting their grants but the cost of living is on the rise.

This year alone there have been 5 fuel hikes and South Africans will now pay over R16 per litre for petrol and the cost of illuminating paraffin is also set to increase. This is on top of the anti-poor VAT increase earlier this year. This has had a massive impact on the price of food and public transport.

South Africans continue to be burdened by the ANC’s corruption and their failure to shield the most vulnerable from the successive cost of living increases.

The DA strongly opposed the VAT and fuel increases as it is anti-poor and proposed that the Child Support Grant, especially, be increased above the food poverty line.

Our proposal to increase the Child Support Grant was rejected by the ANC. This comes as no surprise, as the ANC continues to punish the poor for their mismanagement and poor governance.

The DA will continue to fight for the dignity of social grants recipients as the continued turmoil at the agency has serious consequences on the livelihoods of the poor and most vulnerable.

New SASSA payment system creating a crisis for 2.8 million South Africans

The Democratic Alliance is concerned by reports we are receiving from social grant beneficiaries across the country related to “glitches” in the system which have resulted in many of them being turned away from pay points.

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the South African Post Office (SAPO) appear to have been ill-prepared for the changes to the new payment system which has now caused delays in payments to beneficiaries.

We have noted the late apology issued by SASSA Acting CEO Abraham Mahlangu yesterday essentially placing the blame on a “systems failure”. This apology is simply not good enough. 2.8 million South Africans are beneficiaries of cash payments and they depend on these to put food on the table. SASSA should have made sure that all pay points had converted to the new system ahead of this month’s grants payments.

Until pay points change to the new system, beneficiaries will not be able to access their funds. Neither SASSA or SAPO can say for certain when they expect this to happen which means millions of people will go hungry for an indefinite period because of SASSA’s negligent behaviour. The DA will not stand by and let this go unchallenged.

Tomorrow, SASSA is due to appear before the Social Development Portfolio Committee and the DA will use this opportunity to get more clarity on behalf of these beneficiaries.

We will also conduct oversight visits at key pay points in order to engage beneficiaries and to assess the severity of the situation ourselves.

This continued chaos at SASSA places further blight on this ANC government and is an indictment on Social Development minister Susan Shabangu. Like her predecessor ‘Dodging Bathabile Dlamini’, she is playing a game of hide and seek by failing to provide leadership in this time of crisis.

President Ramaphosa must not protect Shabangu like Zuma protected Dlamini

The time has come for President Cyril Ramaphosa to personally intervene in the ongoing social grants fiasco.

This is after CPS submitted an affidavit to the Constitutional Court stating that it does not have enough money to distribute cash grants to beneficiaries in July. CPS claims to not have enough money because they are demanding a higher administration fee than what has been recommended, approved and paid in full by National Treasury and SASSA.

Essentially, CPS is attempting to create yet another crisis, risking the wellbeing of 2.8 million social grant recipients, to force government’s hand to pay them more money.

By threatening to not pay cash grants, CPS is clearly holding the Department of Social Development, the Constitutional Court and the beneficiaries to ransom.

This is further proof of CPS’s parasitic nature and that they are willing to toy with the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable for their own financial gain.

In 2014, the Constitutional Court declared the CPS contract unlawful. In March this year, the Court was forced to grant yet another extension of this contract which is set to come to an end in September this year.

The President has to intervene with urgency, as he too is accountable for this mess.

Instead of ensuring that he prioritised the lives of the poor and vulnerable by appointing a competent Minister to replace Dodging Dlamini, he simply swapped like for like.

On Wednesday, the new Minister of Social Development, Susan Shabangu, appeared before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Social Development where she had ample opportunity to divulge this information. However, she did not. This means that she either chose to keep quiet or she was completely in the dark about the impending crisis at CPS. Both scenarios are equally inexcusable.

President Ramaphosa cannot protect Minister Shabangu the way President Jacob Zuma protected Minister Bathabile Dlamini.

On Wednesday, the DA wrote to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development to request that the Minister and the SASSA CEO account to Parliament on the decision to cancel the tender process for another service provider to distribute grants. The Minister must answer for this mess and why SASSA decided to cancel the cash grants tender process. It is now clear that CPS is grossly unsuitable to distribute social grants to our people.

The DA will not be deterred from ensuring that SASSA, CPS and the Minister is held accountable for once again placing the lives of vulnerable social grants recipients at risk.

This ongoing crisis must be dealt with urgently, once and for all for sake of the millions who rely on social grants just to get by.

DA requests record of decision on SASSA cash grants tender cancellation

The DA has written to the Minister of Social Development, Susan Shabangu, and the Acting SASSA CEO, Abraham Mahlangu, to request the Record of Decision on SASSA’s decision to cancel the bidding process to find an alternative service provider to CPS, for the distribution of cash grants.

The public has a right to know the rationale behind the decision to cancel the tender process and that this is not yet another attempt to hold a gun to the head of the Constitutional Court to extend the illegal CPS contract.

The DA maintains that this move by SASSA is not only reckless but also utterly negligent given that no information has been provided about an alternative service provider to pay out cash grants to 2.8 million beneficiaries.

To this end, we have also requested that the Minister make public any contingency plans that have been put in place to ensure that grant beneficiaries are able to receive cash payments without interruption after the current extension of the CPS contract comes to an end in September.

The reality is that the Constitutional Court declared the initial CPS contract invalid in 2014. The Department and SASSA have had two years to find a suitable alternative. Instead, under the leadership of then Social Development Minister, Bathabile ‘Dodging’ Dlamini, they have consistently delayed the process.

It is now time for the new Minister to play open cards.

If Minister Shabangu has nothing to hide, she will make all documents and opinions on which the decision was based public.

The DA will continue to keep a close eye on the developments of the cash payment process. The 2.8 million vulnerable South Africans who depend on cash grants every month cannot continue to be kept guessing about whether or not they will receive their grants.

Cancelling SASSA tender process is toying with the lives of millions

Please find attached an English soundbite by the DA Shadow Minister of Social Development, Bridget Masango MP.

The DA notes with concern reports today that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has cancelled the bidding process to find an alternative service provider to Cash Paymaster Services(CPS), for the distribution of cash grants.

The DA will now write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, Ms Rosemary Capa, to request that she urgently invites Minister Susan Shabangu to account to Parliament on this decision and what it means for the 2.8 million grant beneficiaries who receive cash payments.

This move by SASSA is negligent and provides further proof that the Department under Shabangu’s leadership is on the same path witnessed during the disastrous tenure of Bathabile Dlamini.

SASSA cancelled the bidding process without having a contingency plan in place; effectively toying with the lives of 2.8 million vulnerable South Africans who depend on these grants.

In Court papers, Minister Shabangu stated her plans to establish a technical committee to advise her on the transition from CPS. Many of the suggested committee members do not inspire any confidence:

  • Former Minister Dipuo Peters presided over rampant corruption and maladministration in the Transport Department;
  • Totsie Memela was accused by former Land and Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza of corruption and incompetence during her tenure at the Land Bank;
  • Sipho Shezi served as the special advisor to Minister Bathabile Dlamini when the grants crisis started in 2017.

We believe the formation of this committee is yet another attempt by the ANC government to ensure the continuation of the illegal CPS contract. If there was ever any doubt, Shabangu has confirmed that there will be no ‘new dawn’ with her at the helm as she follows in her predecessor’s footsteps of treating poor South Africans as second-class citizens.

As we did with Dlamini; the DA will not allow Shabangu to get away with this.

Bathabile Dlamini and Pearl Bhengu must be held personally liable for SASSA waste

The Democratic Alliance will write to the new Minister of Social Development, Susan Shabangu, to request that her Department take urgent action to hold her predecessor, Bathabile Dlamini, and former South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) CEO, Pearl Bhengu, personally liable for gross irregular expenditure at the Department during their tenure, including the R16 million spent on dubious “education meetings”.

In a presentation to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) in Parliament today, SASSA revealed Bhengu signed off R16 million in December 2017 for “education meetings” in Kwazulu-Natal without following standard procurement procedures.

Today, Bhengu was the only Provincial manager absent, conveniently “unwell”.

It is alleged that Bhengu, within a day of receiving the request, approved inter alia:

• A marque for R485 000;
• Flooring for R482 000;
• Chairs and ‘decor’ for R487 000;
• Catering for R493 000;
• Transport for R493 000;
• A sound system for R492 000; and
• Gifts and promotions worth R480 000

Dlamini and Bhengu cannot escape accountability for their complicity in turning SASSA into their personal piggy bank while diverting money to vanity projects that did not improve the material welfare of grant recipients. While we welcome the commitments by the new acting SASSA CEO, Abraham Mahlangu to conduct further investigations, parliament must still exercise its oversight responsibilities and therefore Dlamini and Bhengu should be summoned to urgently appear before SCOPA to account for their actions.

Shipping Bhengu off to Kwazulu-Natal will also not atone for the financial damage she did while she was the CEO at SASSA. She must immediately be suspended pending an investigation and, if found guilty, made to pay back all the SASSA money that was wasted. The same is true for Dlamini; the fact she is now the Minister of Women despite her demonstrated poor leadership is an indictment on the ANC government and sends a clear message that accountability is not a priority for them.

The real tragedy is that while grant recipients are struggling with the rise in food prices triggered by the VAT increase to 15%, SASSA continues to lose money without any sense of responsibility to the millions of poor South Africans it is meant to serve. The DA will not sit idly and allow this blatant misuse of state coffers to continue.

SAPS members with criminal records in Mangaung FCS unit highlights nation-wide police mismanagement problem

This statement follows an oversight visit to Mangaung Police Station in the Free State by DA Shadow Minister of Police, Zakhele Mbhele MP.

Please find soundbites in English and IsiZulu by Mr Mbhele.

Today’s oversight visit to the Mangaung Police Station’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit in the Free State, highlights a nation-wide problem of police members with criminal records, which is reflective of mismanagement on the part of the police top brass.

In Mangaung specifically, there are 3 FCS SAPS members with criminal charges relating to the defrauding of SASSA, reckless driving and assault. According to the law, someone with a criminal record is not eligible to serve as a police officer. However, in the course of the oversight visit, an explanation was brought forth to indicate that at least one of the criminal records is a case of wrongful conviction that needs to be investigated, as the member was not aware of the record against their name and was never called as a witness to a court process that resulted in the conviction.

Whatever the full facts of the matter, it is clear that there has been a management failure in the criminal justice system whereby the criminal record was not picked up earlier and the member thus afforded an opportunity to explain the preceding circumstances and apply for condonation or expungement.

It’s patently clear that police members who have criminal records would either be not fit to serve in the SAPS and especially to deal with children and victims of sexual violence, or they might have been failed by mismanagement to ensure correct records concerning their criminal status, which could potentially haunt the careers of serving members unfairly.

The fact that there are cops with convictions still in the police service, especially the critical component such as the FCS unit, demonstrates that the ANC government does not care enough to ensure SAPS members are fit and proper for serving those affected by crime, or at the least is mismanaging these records and human resource systems.

The entire SAPS leadership crisis continues to fail our people, especially victims of rape, due to the under-resourced and under-trained police service.

The fight against the unacceptably high levels of crimes becomes a futile exercise when the police service is harbouring police officers with criminal records.

The DA has relentlessly called on the Police Minister, Bheki Cele, to ensure an overhaul of the SAPS leadership and the adequate training of the police personnel in order to ensure the safety of all South Africans in their homes and in the streets.

If Minister Cele was serious about his job, he would crack down on criminal cops, remove from the service those who rightly should be, and ensure a swift and effective condonation process for those who qualify for it. Individuals who are not fit-for-purpose offer nothing in the bid to fight crime and make South Africa safe.

Minister Cele must immediately remove patently criminal cops and clean up the records such that they should not put an unjust stain against the names of men and women in the SAPS.

SASSA: Bhengu’s redeployment does not absolve her from accountability

In today’s Portfolio Committee Meeting on Social Development, Minister Susan Shabangu confirmed reports that Abraham Mahlangu has been appointed as Acting SASSA CEO following the redeployment of Pearl Bhengu to KwaZulu-Natal.

While the DA welcomes Bhengu’s exit from SASSA, her redeployment does not absolve her from accountability nor does it entitle her to a severance package.

Past experiences have taught us that ineffective CEO’s often get rewarded for poor performance and enabling corruption to fester in our parastatals.

Bhengu was at the helm of SASSA when the agency was on the verge of yet another social grants crisis and she was believed to have been very close to former Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini, who was set on ensuring the continuation of the illegal CPS contract.

The reality is that Bhengu has to be held accountable for her hand in the many crises that SASSA continues to suffer and her role in the social grants mess must be investigated.

The new SASSA CEO has a responsibility to remain politically independent and to ensure that he always acts in the best interest of the 17 million poor and vulnerable South Africans, who depend on social grants every month to just get by.

The DA will continue to keep an eye on the developments at SASSA and we will ensure that Parliament exercises its oversight and hold Shabangu and Mahlangu accountable.

Treasury must intervene in SASSA disaster

The DA notes with concern that the Minister of Social Development, Susan Shabangu, has suspended efforts by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to find a new service provider for the cash-payments portion of the social grants.

Grant recipients have been held hostage by the Department of Social Development for too long. The latest decision by the Minister follows a disastrous tenure by former Minister Bathabile Dlamini who single-handedly, on more than one occasion, forced the Constitutional Court to extend an invalid contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS). The depth of the maladministration and institutional corruption left by Bathabile Dlamini knows no bounds and it is evident that Minister Shabangu is out of her depth in dealing with the destruction and chaos in the Department.

The latest development will, in all likelihood, delay the appointment of a new fully operational cash-provider by the end of September 2018. This flows from the Minister stating in court papers that the tender process was technically flawed and had to be restarted.

It was further revealed that the terms of reference for the tender had been returned to SASSA’s bid-specifications committee on three occasions to make amendments and to seek clarity. It is very suspicious and shocking that when it came to the actual tender there was a lack of clarity and inadequate information, specifically around the number of beneficiaries to receive services, making it impossible for bidders to enter a successful bid.

It is unthinkable that a Department that cannot even draft a proper tender document is responsible for ensuring that 17 million people receive their grants every month. It is clear that the Minister of Social Development, like her predecessor, has no respect for the highest court in the country, and that she and her Department are not capable of effectively managing the procurement process. We therefore reiterate our calls for Treasury to take over the payment function from SASSA, as the agency has become compromised under the toxic rule of the ANC.

The Constitutional Court has for far too long been a playground for Ministers who have no regard for the law or the vulnerable South Africans that depend on social grants.

The Minister continues to rely on self-made emergencies to keep the CPS contract in place, holding social grant beneficiaries to ransom. It is crucial that Treasury intervenes before another deadline is missed and the Constitutional Court is forced to yet again extend the invalid and dubious contract with CPS.