Apologising for “confusion” over the Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) social grant payment contract earlier this year, Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini announced that a new grant service provider would be phased in from November 2017. No detail was provided. “We will continue to seek assistances of industry experts,” said the minister, adding that her department also was in talks with others.

The Constitutional Court some two months ago extended the CPS contract for another year to March 31, 2018 after Sassa failed to take over social grant payments in line with a 2014 Constitutional Court ruling. Three years ago the CPS contract was declared invalid for being uncompetitive and lack of black economic empowerment, but the declaration of invalidity was suspended to March 31, 2017 for Sassa to take over. At the start of this year it became clear that neither the agency nor the department would be able to do so – and the matter returned to court.

Dlamini’s budget vote statement on Thursday comes within two weeks of her telling the parliamentary social development committee it would take five years and R6-billion to change the grant payment system. When the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) subsequently appeared before Parliament’s watchdog on public spending, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), its officials – in the absence of the minister – appeared at a loss.

Sassa and the Social Development Department are scheduled to report in mid-June to the Constitutional Court over what steps are under way to comply with March’s judgment.

On Thursday, however, Dlamini said South Africa’s social grant system was part of the realisation of a better life and well acknowledged not only in Africa, but worldwide.

In another budget debate, another minister also talked up achievements. Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown came out for Eskom, circumventing the controversy surrounding the return of Brian Molefe as chief executive of the power utility.

Load shedding now was a distant past and Eskom had returned to financial health, said Brown. “The reputations of companies and individuals have been placed in infinite limbo as if they have been convicted in a court…. There have as yet been no prosecutions, no convictions and no due legal process.”

But as part of what Brown called the need to “overcome the cloud of allegations and counter allegations relating to corruption”, she repeated what she told Parliament’s public enterprises committee on Tuesday – there would be an inquiry into various Eskom contracts.

The minister said she’d like the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), whose probes are established on presidential proclamation, to review all reports into alleged wrongdoing and conduct an investigation into Eskom procurement. That report would go to a retired judge for recommendations, which the minister would then take to the prosecuting authorities. For now, the Cabinet-approved new SOEs’ remuneration and incentives standards for directors and other officials would be implemented in the current 2017/18 financial year.

This statement came as Parliament’s public enterprises committee is moving towards a parliamentary inquiry into the Molefe saga and Eskom governance issues. Meanwhile, the DA, EFF and trade union Solidarity have combined their challenge to Molefe’s return to head the power utility, according to Business Day, with the court date now set for June 6.

Much of Brown’s focus was on Africa Day and transformation of Eskom coal suppliers, 90% of which are white-owned companies “which have built giant business empires on the back of the guarantees” in these coal contracts. The aim was to “set about our transformation journey in a climate of the highest ethics and responsibility, quickly, and thus contributing to the reversal of downgrade by ratings agencies in the shortest time”. Claims of corruption, Brown said in her response to the budget debate, were linked to resistance to transformation.

Like in Dlamini’s budget vote debate, opposition parties would have none of it in Brown’s.

DA MP Natasha Mazzone said state-owned entities were not just in a state of chaos, they are in fact in a state of capture. “If we are not dealing with Gupta-associated businesses being given tenders, we are dealing with children of employees being given multimillion rand deals or, most recently, resignations … no wait, retirements … no wait … retrenchments … no wait … re-appointments of inept CEOs.”

She called on the public enterprises minister to suspend the Eskom board immediately. “South Africa is not for sale. Our SOEs cannot be bought by the Gupta family with the help of Number One.”

IFP Chief Whip Narend Singh could not resist rubbing it in that his party won the Nquthu elections – for nine months there was no sworn-in council amid politicking in the tightly balanced municipality – and taking away four wards from the ANC.

“The IFP uses a campaigning slogan, ‘Trust us’. That’s what we did in Nquthu…” said Singh. “Can we put the same faith and trust as the people of Nquthu, in the Department of Public Enterprises…. The simple answer is No!”

EFF MP Thembinkosi Rawula described the Molefe debacle as part of the “nonsensical state at Eskom”, asking how it was possible the power utility chief executive could receive R30-million for 18 months’ work, when miners at Marikana were killed and denied R12,500 a month. He called on the disestablishment of the Department of Public Enterprises. Its entities, SAA and Transnet, should go to Transport, and Eskom to Energy.

Neither the United Democratic Movement nor Freedom Front Plus or Cope had anything even vaguely neutral to say about the department. And African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) MP Steve Swart pointed out it had now gone down to the point where churches are taking a stance amid the scandals. And while Brown had pointed out there have been no convictions in any matter, there have also been no clear refutations, only “an oblique reference to a shebeen in Saxonwold”.

The ANC speakers in the debate supported the budget, but played it low-key. There was nothing except to support the budget, and call for delivery as part of a developmental state. “Load shedding is a thing of the past and we are not acknowledged as the ANC government for that,” public enterprises acting committee chairperson ANC MP Zukiswa Rantho concluded, picking up on Brown’s earlier point.

Two controversies. Two ministers. One approach: deflection. DM

Photo: Ministers Bathabile Dlamini and Lynne Brown (GCIS)