Latest news with #R252
IOL News
27-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Constitutional Court to decide on CPS's profits from unlawful social grants contract
The lucrative R10 billion social grants tender is still subject to litigation between the government, non-governmental organisations, and the company contracted to pay social grants. Image: File The long-running legal battle over the payment of social grants by Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) is set to be settled by the Constitutional Court over the company's profits from the lucrative deal. Lobby group Freedom Under Law (FUL) has approached the apex court in a bid to force CPS to produce documents proving the company earned from the unlawful social grants contract. The organisation wants CPS's profit from the contract to be calculated properly and repaid to the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) with documents showing how much the profits were. On Tuesday, the Concourt heard that CPS only declared R252 million and that the profit could be understated by as much as R800 million, according to papers filed by the parties. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'We now know, as the court did not know when it ordered the profit accounting, that CPS has significantly benefited from the unlawful social grants contract. Its independent audits filed with this court show the profits were R252m. 'That is the floor of its unlawful benefit. RAiN investigations and reports, while inconclusive, suggest that the amount may be over R1 billion,' FUL argued. RAiN is the company of chartered accountants asked to investigate the profits received by CPS after the Concourt ruled that its contract was unlawful but allowed it to continue paying social grants. The court heard that the Lesaka Group, previously CPS' parent company Net1, advised the market that its loss of the Sassa social grants contract had led to a reduction of its profit by approximately R5bn. 'The no-profit, no-loss equilibrium allowed the court to permit an unlawful contract to continue for five years, and then even ordered it extended (beyond its original tendered and contracted term) for a further year and a half to protect the many millions of beneficiaries whose constitutional rights would be violated if the payment of social grants (however unlawful the means) ceased,' the court heard. CPS is currently under liquidation, and its liquidators insist that they have handed all the documents in their possession to the auditors looking for the money paid to the company for its contract. 'We respectfully submit that this court should order a just and equitable remedy to ensure the determination of CPS's profits in line with the proposals and considerations,' the company told the Constitutional Court. FUL continued: 'When the court held that the no-profit principle, which means not allowing profit from unlawfulness, and prevented the perpetuation of unlawfulness, it was clear that any such profits were received not as a private party but as an organ of state discharging constitutional obligations to ensure that beneficiaries' rights were not violated by any disruption in the payment of social grants.'
The South African
14-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
Ramokgopa: Load shedding is the cost of long-term energy stability
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has linked this week's stage 2 load shedding to increased planned maintenance, now at record levels, saying the disruptions are part of improving long-term grid reliability. Load shedding, from 16:00 to 22:00 until Thursday, comes amid unit breakdowns and delays in returning generators to service. Speaking during a media briefing on Wednesday, Ramokgopa acknowledged the strain on citizens but insisted the short-term inconvenience will lead to longer-term energy benefits. 'The country will experience short-term pain for long-term gain,' he said. Winter load shedding outlook is better than 2024 Despite the load shedding, Ramokgopa expressed confidence in the country's energy outlook heading into winter. He noted that supply projections for the colder months remain unchanged and highlighted several improvements in generation capacity compared to 2024. Among the key developments is progress at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station. Unit 2 has been successfully synchronised to the grid, boosting output. Although Unit 1 remains offline, it is expected to return by July when demand peaks. 'We are entering this winter in a better position than last year,' said Ramokgopa. He also pointed to Kusile Power Station's Unit 6, which added 800 megawatts to the grid after being synchronised on March 26. 'We didn't have the benefits of these 800 megawatts when we entered the winter of 2024,' he said. Funding Secured for Grid Improvements Ramokgopa further addressed the R252 billion Treasury allocation earmarked for the energy sector over the next three years. A major share of this funding is directed at restoring and upgrading Eskom's aging fleet to improve generation reliability. 'We have invested it in the replenishing and refurbishing of our generation units so that we can have the benefits of uninterrupted power supply,' he said. The minister confirmed that Eskom will reassess the current energy situation and provide an update on Thursday, amid ongoing pressure to stabilise the power grid. As South Africans continue to adapt to scheduled blackouts, do you believe the government's current strategy will result in a more reliable electricity supply in the near future? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
