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The former chief executive of the South Africa Social Security Agency has said that when he warned Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini about her controversial “work streams”, she vilified him in front of his staff and told him to “concentrate on day-to-day business”.
Thokozani Magwaza was testifying at the inquiry investigating whether the minister should be held personally liable for the costs incurred during the grants payments crisis.
Read: Dlamini: Nothing ‘sinister’ about controversial ‘work streams’
During his testimony on Friday at the office of the chief justice in Midrand, Magwaza described how Dlamini barged into an exco meeting without warning and reprimanded him in front of his subordinates.
He added that Dlamini would also change advisers on a whim.
“[The] problem was, [the] minister was running Sassa [the social security agency] like her own shop,” he said.
Magwaza said that during an exco meeting in February, Dlamini made a surprise appearance, attending the meeting for the first time without notifying Magwaza.
Dissatisfied with suggestions made by executives, she lashed out at Magwaza, telling him to “concentrate on day-to-day business” and let the work streams do their work as they “reported to her”.
Dlamini appointed these controversial “work streams” to deal with the administering of social grants. In June last year, the Treasury reported that the appointment of these “work streams”, which formed parallel structures to the South Africa Social Security Agency’s operations and who reported directly to Dlamini, was irregular.
“She walked outside. I followed her and I said: ‘But minister, this is unfair. You are vilifying me in front of my staff.’ She said nothing. Her security then stood around her to protect her as if I was trying to attack her.”
Magwaza added that Dlamini had been warned on several occasions that the work streams would be seen as working parallel to the social security agency’s exco.
“I said: ‘Mama, we are trying to push against a parallel process. This is a parallel process’.”
During cross-examination on Monday, Dlamini however said she was not aware that Magwaza and former social security agency director-general Zane Dangor viewed her work streams as a parallel process.
Dlamini had faced four days of cross-examination where she was reprimanded by the chair of the inquiry, retired judge Bernard Ngoepe, for avoiding questions.
Dlamini said it was “untrue” that the work streams she established and which reported to her were meant to operate parallel to the work of social security agency, or undermine its work.
The inquiry was established to investigate whether Dlamini sought the appointment of individuals to lead the various “work streams” to report directly to her.
The Constitutional Court ordered the inquiry to investigate the details of the appointments, such as when people were appointed, who they reported to, and the dates and contents of the report of the work streams to the minister.
The inquiry would also look into why the minister did not disclose this information to the court.
During cross-examination, Geoff Budlender, the advocate for the Black Sash, which took the social security agency to the Constitutional Court last year, argued that Dlamini’s most important duty was to ensure that 17 million people depending on social grants received them on time.
Last year, Magwaza said in an affidavit that the work streams were given a broad mandate to take over the implementation of the project, and that the social security agency was instructed not to interrupt or delay them in their work.
- News24
