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The Portfolio Committee on Social Development has dealt with the state of readiness of the Department of Social Development to comply with the Constitutional Court ruling to implement all those requirements within the stipulated time. The Committee is happy that a lot of work has been done in that regard and that the department will submit their affidavits in time.

What also transpired was the fact that there will be required amendments in the South African Social Security Agency's (Sassa's) annual performance plan and budget in order to accommodate the new required Constitutional Court ruling and pronouncements.

During the Committee meeting, it transpired that Sassa and the department have to change their time frames of working with the current company, Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), to 12 months as per the ruling of the court in the annual performance plans. This leads to amendments to the annual performance plans and budget of Sassa.

The Committee also appreciated the fact that payments on the 1 April were done smoothly in all areas and our people were not exposed to unnecessary suffering. The Committee will monitor closely progress towards the next 1 April date so that there is no repeat of what happened during this time. The Committee has also been informed that there is ongoing work between other government stakeholders and the department in shaping the future. Those include the South African Post Office, Sita (State Information Technology Agency) and other departments like the Department of Home Affairs for database security.

The Committee would also like to support the Minister of Social Development, Ms Bathabile Dlamini's expressions on the latest illegal deductions ruling by the North Gauteng High Court in favour of Net 1, as it also contradicts the Constitutional Court's ruling on this matter. The Committee will go to the extent of amending the Sassa Act if there is a need. The Portfolio Committee is committed to supporting poor people in this country.

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, Ms Zoleke Capa