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09 Oct, 2025
Dlamini 2.0: How Social Development is sliding back into scandal
Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is deeply concerned by the avalanche of revelations exposing the collapse of governance, accountability, and ethics within the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). Recent reports from the Auditor-General and Parliament confirm what the UDM has warned for years: that a department meant to be the moral anchor of our democracy has regressed into a web of mismanagement, patronage, and disregard for the poor. Allegations surrounding Minister Sisisi Tolashe’s conduct have plunged the portfolio into scandal. The appointment of a 22-year-old Chief of Staff, the reported romantic relationship with a special adviser, and the extravagant R3 million trip to New York, all paint a disturbing picture of arrogance and impunity. The dual role of Minister Tolashe as both ANC Women’s League President and head of a department responsible for welfare programmes has raised questions about partisan influence over state resources. This is not the first time that the Department of Social Development (DSD) has been brought into disrepute under the leadership of an ANC Women’s League President. South Africans will remember former Minister Bathabile Dlamini, who left behind a trail of corruption, negligence, and constitutional violations. She presided over the 2017 social grants crisis that nearly collapsed SASSA, was found guilty of perjury by the courts, and had earlier been convicted for her role in the Travelgate scandal. The parallels are disturbing. What the country is witnessing today under Minister Tolashe is Dlamini 2.0, another example of a department seemingly captured by political insiders, mired in scandal, and indifferent to the suffering of the poor. The latest report from the Auditor-General confirms that the DSD has regressed in performance and financial management. Persistent irregular expenditure, vacant posts, and weak internal controls continue to undermine delivery. At the same time, SASSA, once a cornerstone of social protection, has become synonymous with chaos. Payment failures, technical breakdowns, and corruption have repeatedly left millions of pensioners, people with disabilities, and child grant recipients destitute. The crisis at Postbank and its dependency on the collapsing South African Post Office (SAPO) illustrate the state’s failure to separate financial operations from logistical ruin. Postbank, which is still in transition to becoming a stand-alone state bank, relies heavily on SAPO’s broken infrastructure. This entanglement has crippled SASSA’s payment system and created an endless cycle of system failures, contract extensions, and beneficiary suffering. The UDM calls for: 1. An independent forensic investigation into all contracts, expenditures, and appointments linked to SASSA and Postbank, including the R3 million New York trip. The Portfolio Committee on Social Development, working with the Auditor-General and the Public Service Commission, must lead this process. 2. The urgent separation of Postbank from the failing Post Office. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies must pull up its socks and fast track the implementation of the Postbank Amendment Act to make Postbank a fully independent, modern, and secure state bank. The Department must also accelerate SAPO’s reform through modernisation, digital transformation, and diversification of postal services. South Africans cannot continue to suffer because the state insists on patching up two failing institutions instead of reforming them. 3. A full audit of the social grant payment system to guarantee reliability, transparency, and protection from political interference. 4. Stronger parliamentary oversight to ensure that social protection serves the poor and not political insiders. Behind every scandal is a pensioner who sleeps hungry, a child whose grant is delayed, and a family whose only income disappears in bureaucratic confusion. The DSD has lost its moral compass. It is unacceptable that those who rely most on the state should pay the highest price for government incompetence. As a committed partner in the Government of National Unity, the UDM will not remain silent while the poor are betrayed by those entrusted to serve them. The GNU was established to restore credibility, rebuild ethical governance, and deliver on the promise of a capable state. It cannot succeed if some of its members treat public office as a personal fiefdom. The President must ensure that accountability is not applied selectively and that all departments, including Social Development, reflect the values and discipline that the GNU was created to uphold. Social development should be the conscience of the state, not a playground for self-enrichment. The UDM urges the Government of National Unity to act decisively to clean this department, restore integrity, and protect the dignity of our people. The welfare of South Africans cannot continue to depend on a ministry drowning in scandal and a payment system built on failure.
