#SASSA demands contract extension in a bid to sort out grant woes

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Johannesburg - The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has approached the Constitution Court to ask that its contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) be extended for another 6 months.

CPS distributes social grants on behalf of Sassa.

In March last year, the Constitutional Court ruled that the invalid contract between Sassa and CPS could be extended for a 1 year while Sassa prepared to take over the distribution of social grants.





The deadline for the end of the contract is in March and Sassa CEO Pearl Bhengu approached the court on Tuesday and asked the court for a further six months to sort out the issue of social grants beneficiaries that don't have bank accounts.





The agency says there are about 2.5 million beneficiaries that don't have bank accounts.





Bhengu has argued that CPS has a "moral" obligation to continue distributing social grants until September 2018 to those 2.5 million beneficiaries, Business Day reported. It says arrangements have been made for the other 8.5 million beneficiaries.





This arrangement could possible involve banks.





A hearing is currently underway into whether Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini should be held liable for the social grants crisis.





Civil organisations argue she deliberately did not make arrangements to find an alternative contractor to distribute social grants because she wanted CPS to continue with the contract.





Politics and Development Hub