Judgment in Absa social grants court case

Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini has cut short a trip to India ahead of a court case in which a subsidiary of banking giant Absa has questioned the awarding of a R10 billion social security contract. Judgment in the case is expected on Tuesday.

Social grants are dispensed by the SA Social Security Agency, a unit of the Department of Social Development.

On Saturday Dlamini’s spokesperson Lumka Oliphant would not confirm that the trip was being cut short, saying only: “We will be coming back from India tomorrow. The India leg of the trip was going to end tomorrow.”

Absa’s Allpay Consolidated Investment has handled payments of pensions and grants in the Free State, Western Cape, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape – to 14.8 million people – for the past decade but in January, lost the contract.

It was awarded instead to Cash Paymaster Services (CPOS), a US-listed company. Allpay asked the High Court in Pretoria to set aside the CPS contract.

Oliphant could not confirm that Dlamini would be attending proceedings.

Dlamini and her team have been in India since Monday investigating best practice regarding that country’s social protection policies.

The Sunday Independent has learnt that the rest of Dlamini’s entourage will go on to visit Australia, while the minister, Oliphant and SA Social Security Agency CEO Virginia Petersen will return home tomorrow.

The group has also visited Brazil.

In its court application, Allpay alleged procedural unfairness, irregularities and political interference. It claimed it received a hostile reception from an aggressive bid adjudication committee that had dismissed its solutions to questions presented.

It also alleged the agency had acted to secure an outcome that would favour the winning bidder and which had not complied with requirements. Allpay said their score in the bid process had been inexplicably lowered, claiming relationships between CPS’s BEE partners and the bid evaluation and adjudication committees.

The Mail&Guardian has suggested a former business associate of Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale is linked to CPS.

Earlier this year, The Sunday Independent revealed that R1.4 million was deposited into the private bank account of Human Settlements director general Thabane Zulu, one month before he took part in the awarding of the contract.

candice.bailey@inl.co.za

Sunday Independent