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| Sassa crisis: SA court averts welfare payments crisis | Sassa crisis: SA court averts welfare payments crisis |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| South Africa's constitutional court has averted a crisis on welfare payments to 17 million people by extending the contract of the processing company by one year. | South Africa's constitutional court has averted a crisis on welfare payments to 17 million people by extending the contract of the processing company by one year. |
| The court had ruled in 2014 that Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) was awarded the contract unlawfully. | The court had ruled in 2014 that Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) was awarded the contract unlawfully. |
| The state had failed to clarify how the payments would be handled after CPS's contract ends on 31 March. | The state had failed to clarify how the payments would be handled after CPS's contract ends on 31 March. |
| One in three South Africans depend on these payments. | One in three South Africans depend on these payments. |
| Minister Bathabile Dlamini, who is in charge of the state's Social Security Agency (Sassa), has been facing growing calls to resign over how she has handled the crisis. | Minister Bathabile Dlamini, who is in charge of the state's Social Security Agency (Sassa), has been facing growing calls to resign over how she has handled the crisis. |
| The court ruled that Sacca and CPS are under a constitutional obligation to ensure that payments are processed at the beginning of April. | The court ruled that Sacca and CPS are under a constitutional obligation to ensure that payments are processed at the beginning of April. |
| It also ordered Ms Dlamini to file affidavits every three months on how Sacca plans to make the payments in future. | |
| In figures: South Africa's social grants | In figures: South Africa's social grants |
| The BBC's Milton Nkosi in Johannesburg says that beneficiaries usually stand in long queues in townships and villages across the country to receive their grants. | The BBC's Milton Nkosi in Johannesburg says that beneficiaries usually stand in long queues in townships and villages across the country to receive their grants. |
| The welfare payments are a social safety net - one of the biggest in Africa - and among the proudest achievements in the 23 years the African National Congress (ANC) has governed South Africa, since the end of white minority rule, he adds. | The welfare payments are a social safety net - one of the biggest in Africa - and among the proudest achievements in the 23 years the African National Congress (ANC) has governed South Africa, since the end of white minority rule, he adds. |