DA wants inquiry into Bathabile Dlamini

Leader Mmusi Maimane led hundreds of supporters to the department's offices in Pretoria where he delivered a memorandum of demands to officials.

The DA wants Dlamini to be held accountable for the SASSA debacle, saying she is putting the lives of 17 million South Africans at risk and undermining the Constitutional Court.

"Bathabile Dlamini had three years to find a solution to distributing these grants. She knew exactly how big this job was, and she knew about the deadline. And she did absolutely nothing. She knew that, come 1 April, 17 million South Africans could stand to lose their only financial lifeline if she didn’t present a solution. And she did absolutely nothing," said Maimane.

Maimane also accused Dlamini of stealing from the poor.

"Looking after the poor and the vulnerable may be her job, but Bathabile Dlamini doesn’t care about grant beneficiaries. She has too many other things to worry about. Things like campaigning. If she’s not busy campaigning for Zuma himself, or for her own position in the ANC Women’s League, then she’s out there campaigning for the president’s ex-wife to take over from him. In Bathabilie Dlamini’s world, this is what she was elected to do. The poor, the disabled, the sick, the old and the young come second. Number 1 comes first," says Maimane.