AllPay Consolidated Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Others v Chief Executive Officer of the South African Social Security Agency and Others

The case arose from the Constitutional Court’s continuing supervision of the social grants payment tender process following its earlier decisions in AllPay 1 and AllPay 2, which set aside as invalid the tender and contract between SASSA and Cash Paymaster Services (CPS). The declaration of invalidity was suspended to allow SASSA to re-run the tender under a structural interdict. CPS brought an application seeking ancillary relief, contending that the revised Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by SASSA did not comply with the Court’s earlier orders and was therefore invalid. During proceedings, the parties reached agreement on most procedural steps to finalise the tender, but CPS objected to a proposed paragraph in the draft order that restricted further relief to applications brought only in the Constitutional Court.

The Court added a paragraph to the order providing that the parties may only approach the Constitutional Court for further relief, and confirmed the agreed timetable and procedures for finalising the amended RFP, submission of bids, and award of the new tender.

The judgment is significant for affirming the Constitutional Court’s power to retain exclusive supervisory jurisdiction through structural interdicts in complex constitutional and procurement matters. It reinforces judicial oversight in public procurement affecting vulnerable beneficiaries and underscores the Court’s role in ensuring effective, timely compliance with its remedial orders.