South Africa court orders govt to pay social grant on 1 April

Jacob Zuma1

Ex-President Jacob Zuma of South Africa: defies anti-graft commission

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa

South Africa’s Constitutional Court ordered the government on Friday to pay social grants on April 1 via its current service provider, seeking to end a fiasco that had threatened the payment of benefits to 17 million people.

The court also said the grant-paying company had to do so under the terms of its existing contract for 12 months before a new deal could be adopted, Reuters reports.

The mess stems from the social welfare department failing to take responsibility for social service payments or find a new provider after the Constitutional Court ruled several years ago that the contract was unsound.

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