The civic rights group Black Sash Trust has asked the Supreme Court of Appeal to let it seek to overturn a High Court ruling allowing Net1 UEPS Technologies to continue making deductions from welfare grants distributed on the government’s behalf. The High Court, which made its ruling in May, has refused Black Sash the right to appeal. The group argues that a range of companies, some part-owned by Net1, take advantage of some of SA’s poorest and least educated people by selling them goods and services ranging from loans to funeral insurance they can’t afford and on terms they don’t fully understand. "Complaints are endemic across SA that various corporations have engaged in exploitative practices that have unjustifiably depleted the social grants of beneficiaries," the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, which is representing Black Sash, said in affidavit filed with the Supreme Court on Thursday. The welfare programme, which distributes more than $11bn distributed to about 17-million p...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.