Sassa problems started with CEO — minister
• Minister tells inquiry that head of social grant agency failed to engage with her
Problems started at the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) when CEO Thokozani Magwaza was appointed, says Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini. Dlamini was testifying on Wednesday at an inquiry into whether she should be held personally liable for the Sassa debacle, which led to the agency not being able to take over the administering of social grants in April 2017.
Problems started at the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) when CEO Thokozani Magwaza was appointed, Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini says.
Dlamini was testifying on Wednesday at an inquiry into whether she should be held personally liable for the Sassa debacle which led to the agency not being able to take over the administering of social grants in April 2017.
During cross-examination by Magwaza’s legal representative, Richard Solomon, Dlamini denied that she had told the CEO not to interfere with Sassa’s controversial work streams and to rather focus on the dayto-day running of the agency.
She denied that the work streams were instructed to report to her directly.
The work streams were appointed by Dlamini to help Sassa put together a plan for the agency to take over the administering of social grants by the April 1 2017 deadline after the Constitutional Court found that a contract with Cash Paymaster Services was illegal.
There have been allegations that the work streams usurped the roles and responsibilities of Sassa officials.
Dlamini was adamant that the Sassa executive committee and Magwaza had been communicating with the work streams and pointed to minutes of meetings.
“How could I have ever said the CEO must not be part of work that work streams are doing?” she said.
Dlamini was asked whether she stood by her affidavit that said Magwaza had failed to engage with her comprehensively. She responded “yes”.
Asked in which aspect Magwaza failed to communicate with her, the minister kept referring to the affidavit that was filed in the Constitutional Court without her consent.
The affidavit was subsequently withdrawn.
Dlamini was unhappy that as political head she had not been consulted on the affidavit’s contents and had not seen it before it was filed.
Solomon pressed the minister on what type of engagement she wanted from Magwaza and pointed to minutes of a meeting at which he had raised concerns that the Sassa executive was being sidelined.
Solomon also questioned Dlamini about her attempts to shift blame on to Magwaza.
In an affidavit to the Constitutional Court in 2017, Magwaza, in response to an affidavit made by Dlamini, accused the minister of lying to the court about her involvement.
Dlamini told the inquiry that Magwaza was aware of what was happening and that many documents had his signature as well as hers on them.
Solomon pointed out that Magwaza had only started in his role of CEO in November 2016 and that Dlamini was made aware that Sassa would miss its deadline to take over the social grant payments in October of that year.
“He didn’t know what was going on, you knew what was going on, you put in place these work streams, you directed who should be employed as leaders [of the work streams], you directed that they report to you.... What did you want from someone who came newly into the position?” Solomon asked.
Magwaza and Zane Dangor, Dlamini’s former special adviser and director-general in her department, are expected to testify at the inquiry, which continues on Thursday.