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

SASSA invited tenders for a nationwide system to pay social grants to about 15 million beneficiaries. AllPay and Cash Paymaster were the only bidders to pass the initial technical threshold. After oral presentations, AllPay’s functionality score dropped below the qualifying threshold, while Cash Paymaster’s increased, leading to Cash Paymaster being awarded a five‑year, nationwide contract. AllPay challenged the award, alleging several procedural and substantive irregularities in the procurement process. The High Court declared the tender process invalid but declined to set aside the contract. The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned that finding and upheld the award. AllPay then approached the Constitutional Court.

Leave to appeal was granted and the appeal was upheld. The procurement process was declared constitutionally invalid. (The determination of an appropriate just and equitable remedy was to be addressed separately, given the public interest implications.)

This case is a leading authority on public procurement and administrative law in South Africa. It clarified the proper test for assessing irregularities in tender processes, firmly separating unlawfulness from remedy. The judgment reinforced the binding nature of procurement prescripts and strengthened constitutional oversight of state contracting, particularly where socio‑economic rights are implicated.