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Freedom Under Law (FUL) welcomes the judgment handed down by the Constitutional Court (CC) on 8 April 2026 in the matter of Black Sash Trust v Minister of Social Development. FUL was the second applicant in this litigation.

The judgment is the latest development in a long-running saga originating in the award of a tender by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to Cash Paymaster Services (Pty) Ltd (CPS) for the payment of social grants. The original contract and subsequent contract between SASSA and CPS were both set aside by the CC.

The issue in this phase of litigation was whether CPS was required to repay the profits it had earned under the invalid contract. FUL had sought compel the disclosure of information to ensure that the auditing and verification process contemplated by the CC’s earlier judgment could be conducted in a manner allowing for a proper determination of CPS’s profits to be made.

The CC has now held that CPS is liable to repay SASSA the amount of R81.3 million. The CC established that CPS had performed a public function in distributing social grants, and that it therefore incurred constitutional obligations. It was not entitled to benefit from an unlawful contract without public scrutiny and was required to account for its gains.

The judgment is significant in ensuring the accountability of a private body exercising a public function and highlighting that such a body is bound by constitutional obligations. It is also significant in ensuring that companies cannot profit from unlawful contracts. This provides both a degree of accountability for wrongdoers, and a deterrent for those who might otherwise have been prepared to enter into and profit from unlawful contracts with public entities.  

FUL therefore welcomes the judgment as an important outcome in upholding the rule of law, despite the fact that it has taken 12 years to reach a point of finality.

Issued by Freedom Under Law