Dlamini still at risk of being held liable for grant crisis

The Black Sash Trust says former Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini remains at risk of being held personally liable for the grants crisis in 2017.

The Constitutional Court was forced to extend an unlawful contract, to ensure that grant beneficiaries continued receiving payments.

The court set up an inquiry, headed by Judge Bernard Ngoepe, to determine the Minister’s role in the crisis and whether or not she should pay the legal costs from her own pocket.

The Minister testified over four days.

“What does one say about a witness who is repeatedly obstructive and evasive, refuses to answer questions, ducks the questions, answers the wrong question, gives long winded explanations to simple questions and who doesn’t tell the truth on absolutely critical questions? And I say that the kindest way to describe the Minister’s evidence is to say that she was an embarrassingly poor witness,” says the Trust’s lawyer, Geoff Budlender SC.