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Some opposition parties were on the war path on Wednesday when it emerged that Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini apparently chose to attend to ANC-government business in Ethiopia while she and her department was expected to present plans for their “takeover” of social grant payouts later this year.
The meeting of Parliament’s portfolio committee on social development was cancelled when the committee was initially informed Dlamini would have to attend an ANC lekgotla this week.
Yet it emerged she was not even in the country.
Lumka Oliphant, Dlamini’s spokesperson, insisted she was in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, as part of an official government delegation to the African Union Summit on Gender.
“She is attending in her official capacity as the minister of social development. All official international trips are approved by the president.
"Approval to travel to the AU summit was granted by the president subsequent to the request for postponement of the sitting of the portfolio committee.”
The delegation attended on the invitation of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former AU chair.
But the ANC Women’s League – of which Dlamini is the president – earlier this week said in a statement that the league was launching its task team and young women’s desk in Addis Ababa.
Oliphant told Media24 “it is normal for organisations to do work on the sidelines of the official programme”.
The women’s league said in the statement:
“Dlamini and her collective have been inundated with requests from South African women in the diaspora to establish women’s league task teams and a young women’s desk for the South African women in the diaspora to mobilise, organise to promote national consciousness and patriotism among women.”
Inkatha Freedom Party member of Parliament Liezl van der Merwe was clearly disturbed by what she deemed as yet another cancellation of a critical South African Social Security Agency briefing.
“The minister again has shown absolutely no commitment to the critical portfolio she has been entrusted with and has instead again chosen ANC business ahead of looking after the interests of the most vulnerable sectors of our society.
"To make matters worse, it is now clear that there is no urgency on the part of the minister and her team to deal with the pending social security agency grant payout crisis.”
Dlamini and her department were supposed to update the portfolio committee of social development on their progress made in taking over the distribution of billions of rands worth of social grants ahead of the April 1 2017 deadline.
This amid growing uncertainty over whether the department and its social security agency would be able to secure a seamless transition with payments once the contract with Cash Payment Services expired in April.
The opposition and organisations such as the Black Sash’s demands for answers from the department had been met with excuses that the information was legally sensitive.
The Constitutional Court earlier declared this grants-payment contract, worth more than R10 billion, invalid.
The South African Social Security Agency has since also acknowledged in Parliament that its plans to take over the payment of social grants may have been too ambitious – sparking fears over the livelihoods of millions of grant beneficiaries.
Van der Merwe said Dlamini’s “no show at Parliament today is the clearest indication to date that this looming national crisis is of no interest to her and that she has absolutely no plan to mitigate the crisis”.
“Considering her conduct in dealing with this matter, it is also clear that she is no longer fit to be the minister of social development.”
DA member of Parliament Lindy Wilson said it was “absolutely scandalous” that the minister could make speeches in Addis Ababa but couldn’t report back on an issue that would affect millions of poor South Africans who were dependent on social grants.
“This is quite frankly a slap in the face of the millions of South Africans who rely on social assistance from the state to get by every day, and who are rightfully worried that they may be without support in less than three months’ time.”
According to reports, Dlamini made a speech on Tuesday night during an event in Addis Ababa where struggle veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was honoured.
Committee chairperson Rosemary Capa said she was not aware of the visit to Ethiopia, because the ANC lekgotla was given as a reason for Dlamini’s absence.
“Any other reason won’t stand.”
She also said she would not blame anyone given the lack of the correct information, to interpret these issue as a pending national crisis for which there is no urgency.
Capa also said the meeting was now being planned for next week and said they would insist on answers.
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