Following weeks of of evidence and cross-examination presented before retired Judge Barnard Ngoepe, the inquiry into the South African Social Services Agency (Sassa) grants crisis resumes on Monday for closing arguments.

The Constitutional Court-mandated inquiry began in January to investigate whether former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini, now appointed minister for women, should be held liable for legal costs incurred in the drawn out court case brought by NGO's.

Dlamini, giving her testimony in isiZulu, denied allegations that she stifled attempts to phase out the illegal Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) contract, which left the Constitutional Court with no choice last year but to allow an extension of the contract to avoid non-payment of social grants to millions of beneficiaries.

However, details on phasing out CPS to enable the South African Post Office (Sapo) or any other service provider to take over remain sketchy a year later, while on the other hand, the state faces paying more money to CPS should the latter be allowed to continue.

Two of Dlamini's former technocrats, former Sassa CEO Thokozani Magwaza and special adviser Zane Dangor, told Ngoepe that the former social development minister ran Sassa as she saw fit and never consulted them.

Magwaza said Dlamini pushed for CPS, and even instructed him to ''find dirt'' on the country's banks so they could be eliminated as possible service providers. Her instruction that the contentious and expensive advisory groups, called workstreams, report directly to her left Sassa in disarray.  

Dlamini denied the allegations that she impeded Sassa from meeting the April 1, 2017 deadline to take over grants as instructed by the Constitutional Court.

Ngoepe will hear closing arguments on Monday, after which he will compile a report for the Constitutional Court to decide on Dlamini's fate in the grants debacle.

Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane said last week that cabinet had confidence in an inter-ministerial committee working around the clock to ensure there were no disruptions in social grants payments on April 1. The committee was polishing the contingency plan should the Constitutional Court reject the second Sassa court application to have the CPS contract extended by six months, she said.