After weeks of uncertainty, Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini said social grants will be paid, but on April 3, not April 1.
According to The Times on Monday, the department said, "Payments are set to be made on Monday April 3 at all of the traditional pay points, including merchants, points of sale and banks and the national police commissioner has been requested to increase police visibility on that day."
This was because April 1 fell on a weekend, so grants would be paid on the first working day of the month, which is April 3.
Dlamini has always said that grants would be paid by April 1, despite uncertainty about whether a contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) will be renewed. Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court granted an extension of CPS, but Dlamini's role in the saga was harshly criticised.
President Jacob Zuma announced that he will lead an interministerial committee to probe the social grants crisis, but this sparked fears amongst Sassa employees that they would be sidelined.
Dlamini was ordered by the Constitutional Court to submit an affidavit by Friday, detailing why she should not pay the cost of the Constitutional Court litigation out of her own pocket.
Departmental spokesperson, Lumka Oliphant, told The Times that Dlamini would comply with the order.