Cosatu adds its voice to the SASSA debacle

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

“Minister we call for your resignation due to your failure to lead this department.We further call on the President Jacob Zuma to remove you from office should you refuse to resign.”
That is how Cosatu articulated itself about their demand for the resignation of Bathabile Dlamini, the Social Development Minister following the shocking SASSA’s social grant saga over the unconstitutional hiring of Cash Pay Master Service (CPS) for the pay out of grants to the country’s 17 million recipients.
The organization also demanded the termination of CPS contract and to have it investigated for corruption.
They also demanded that any links between the CPS and the politicians be revealed and for the implementation of the Constitutional Court decision.
Tony Ehrenreich, COSATU Secretary in the Western Cape made the announcement when they marched to parliament to air their grievances over the matter with their alliance partners that included POPCRU and SACP on Sunday.
Ehrenreich also threatened that they will mobilise rolling mass action if the government did not take their concerns seriously or the Minister resign by March 21.
“We certainly do not see the company’s contract continuing longer than a year but given that Minister Dlamini has been unable to deal with it so far, she must be removed and the presidency itself must over see this important and provide service delivery to our people.
“Even if CPS provides that by the 1st of April soon thereafter the government must ensure that we have got a proper long term solution for the grant payment,” he said.
Ehrenreich said they highlighted the matter as an important issue which demanded to be addressed urgently.
“But if the ministry and the government does not take it seriously and our people’s grants continue to be threatened with mismanagement then our members and grant recipients will come here to parliament in full force”.
“To have an ANC deployed Minster to undermine the provision of the social security is completely unacceptable.
“We are generally concerned about the minister and her own disregard for our people but if anything that strengthens the point is that this is not a person that applies herself or leadership to the situation. This is a person that must be removed not as our organization is unhappy about her as an individual, but because she has clearly failed to provide leadership on this important question.
“She has demonstrated herself to be unfit to lead the department,” he emphasized.
The Social Development Department officials were not available to accept Cosatu’s memorandum and also did not answer their phones when Ehrenreich called them despite his prior arrangement with them.
Police who were at the scene also refused to accept it.
Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has called for a full parliamentary enquiry in to the uncertainty surrounding the distribution of social grants.