DA calls for Sassa CEO’s head
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for the CEO of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) to be sacked, following a damning Constitutional Court judgment on a tender process, which it declared “constitutionally invalid”.
Listed company, Net1 UEPS Technologies, a provider of alternative payment systems, through its subsidiary, Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), was awarded a R10 billion contract by Sassa in January 2012, for the administration of social grants over a five-year period.
AllPay, an Absa company, and rival bidder, previously approached the High Court in Pretoria with concerns about the tender process, claiming it to be illegal and invalid citing corruption.
Having failed in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in March, AllPay took its case to the Constitutional Court.
The DA said in a statement that it would write to the Minister of Social Development, Bathabile Dlamini, demanding that the CEO of Sassa, Virginia Peterson, be fired.
According to the Court:
- Sassa’s CEO, Virginia Peterson, and the Adjudication Committee failed to ensure due diligence during the tender awarding process;
- Sassa failed to objectively confirm Cash Paymaster Services’ claimed empowerment credentials, in contravention of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act. The court held that “it is difficult to think of a more fundamentally mandatory and material condition prescribed by the constitutional and legislative framework that objectively determined empowerment credentials”; and
- There was “vagueness and uncertainty” over the requirements of the tender on the part of both bidders and members of the Bid Evaluation Committee, due to inadequate notices for the tender.
The Constitutional Court ruled that the tender would not be set aside for the moment to avoid disruptions in the grants process.
“We look forward to the 11 February 2014 hearing scheduled to determine a just and equitable resolution for this matter. In the meantime, Minister Dlamini must fire the CEO of Sassa for failing to meet constitutional and legislative requirements in the awarding of the tender,” the DA said.
Meanwhile, listed firm Net 1 UEPS Technologies noted Friday’s ruling and said it “may issue further comment on the ruling once it has had sufficient time to study the full judgment”.
It noted that the grant of a just and equitable remedy is reserved pending a further
hearing, which has been set for February 11, 2014.
The parties have been ordered to submit additional information on affidavit by January 30, 2014.
“The company cannot predict what the outcome of the February 2014 hearing will be. The
contract between Sassa and CPS to distribute social welfare grants to ten million South
Africans every month remains in full force and effect until the Constitutional Court determines the appropriate remedy,” Net1 said.
Loading ...