The Black Sash and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) are encouraged by the joint initiative of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the Portfolio Committee on Social Development to keep the talks active between the Minister of Social Development, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the South African Post Office (SAPO).

It is imperative that the legislature and the executive work together to find a solution for the national payments of social grants to over 17 million beneficiaries when the Constitutional Court's decision extending the suspension of invalidity on the contract between SASSA and Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) ends in March 2018. Social security is a human right and the distribution of social grants should never again be solely reliant on those motivated purely by profit. Through the course of our community monitoring work, we have witnessed the devastating impact and hardship this scenario has on the lives of social grant beneficiaries across the country.

We, therefore, urge all stakeholders to approach these deliberations in good faith and with a greater sense of urgency to avoid another national catastrophe.

For interviews please contact:

From the Black Sash Trust:

Evashnee Naidu
Black Sash KZN Regional Manager
084 430 6133 / 031 301 9215

Lynette Maart (available after 13h00)
Black Sash National Director
083 628 3425 / 021 686 6952

From the Centre for Applied Legal Studies:

Nomonde Nyembe
Attorney at CALS
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076 100 6156 / 011 717 8606

Khuraisha Patel
Candidate Attorney at CALS
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071 944 9990 / 011 717 8627

For media related enquiries please contact:

Esley Philander
Black Sash Communications and Media
073 468 2909 / 021 686 6952