Arthur Greene
After years of ducking and diving, former minister of social development Bathabile Dlamini has finally paid the R650,000 awarded against her by the Constitutional Court in 2018.
In a long career as a public figure, Dlamini spent many years using every trick in the book to avoid taking responsibility for her actions, including accusing her own party of sexism.
Her tenure at Social Development could have been seen as a bad joke if she didn’t hold the livelihood of 17 million grant recipients in her hands.
But even the slippery Dlamini has finally run out of loopholes to slip through.
Following three years of avoiding attorneys and ignoring letters of demand the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (Cals) announced on Thursday that “in the past two weeks the order has now been complied with and Ms Dlamini has paid our costs.”
Cals represented the Black Sash Trust, one of South Africa’s oldest NGOs, in the case.
In the landmark 2018 ruling, the Constitutional Court found Dlamini personally liable for the crisis in social grants payments, deeming her conduct “reckless and grossly negligent.”
The R650,000 that the former minister was ordered to pay represents 20% of the legal costs which the Constitutional Court deemed her personally liable for.
Lee-Anne Bruce of Cals said the historic ruling sent an important message to the public that officials in positions of power can be held accountable for their actions.
“Until recently, Dlamini had made every effort to avoid paying the costs. She not only ignored letters of demand but she even went as far as changing attorneys,” said Bruce.
“Our organisations have persisted in holding her accountable and ensuring the court’s order is enforced.”
Picture source: @min_Bathabile
