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The DA welcomes the Constitutional Court ordering a public inquiry into whether Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini should personally pay the legal costs of the entire SASSA social grants fiasco.

The DA has long been of the belief that the Minister must take full, personal responsibility for gambling with the livelihoods of 17 million poor and vulnerable South Africans – as she seemingly manufactured the crisis to ensure that CPS continue distributing social grants.

This public inquiry will be the first of its kind and will finally provide the public with an opportunity to hold the Minister to account.

The DA does, however, strongly object to the Minister conditionally agreeing to the public inquiry.

It is not up to her to decide who heads this inquiry. In fact, she has no authority to place any conditions before the Constitutional Court and must accept former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke heading this inquiry if this is who the Constitutional Court decides to appoint.

The DA is hopeful that this will be a speedy and effective inquiry and will await the outcomes of this probe – it is high time that Dlamini was made to pay for her actions.

Issued by DA