Johannesburg - Financial organisation Cash Paymaster
Services has been appointed as the new contractor in charge of social grant
payments, the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) said on Wednesday.
"The contract will run over a period of five years at a
cost of approximately R10bn, distributing grants to the value of
approximately R500bn over the same period," Sassa spokesperson Lumka
Oliphant said in a statement.
"It is envisaged that Sassa will, through this
contract, achieve its objective of standardising the services while allowing
beneficiaries flexibility to be paid anywhere in the country.
"This is the first time that Sassa awards a payment
contract as previously it was extended based on the provincial contracts,"
she said.
Oliphant said 128 bids for the contract were submitted to a
committee of senior government officials for evaluation.
"These bids were subjected to rigorous evaluation and
adjudication in conformity with the bid document," she said.
After consulting with the two directors general for the
department of social security, Sassa chief executive Virginia Petersen awarded
the contract to Cash Payment Services.
"In this contract, the unit cost has been capped to
R16.50 for the duration of the contract. This would bring saving of R3bn over a
contract period of five years," Oliphant said.