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[1] The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is an organ of state created by s 2(1) of the South African Social Security Agency Act 9 of 2004 (the SASSA Act). One of its functions is to ‘administer social assistance in terms of Chapter 3 of the Social Assistance Act, 2004’.[1] It may, with the concurrence of the Minister, enter into contracts with service providers ‘to ensure effective payments to beneficiaries’.[2]

[2] SASSA published a request for proposals (RFP) for the registration of beneficiaries of social grants and the payment of social grants. It awarded a tender to Cash Paymaster Services (Pty) Ltd (CPS), the appellant, in January 2012. In the following month SASSA and CPS entered into a contract and a service level agreement (SLA) in terms of which CPS undertook, inter alia, to register beneficiaries of social grants on a data base, and to pay them their social grants when due.[3]

[3] This appeal concerns the validity of what was described by CPS and, at one stage, by SASSA as a variation of the contract, evidenced by the minutes of a meeting held on 15 June 2012. As a result of that purported variation, an amount of R316 447 361.41 was paid by SASSA to CPS. Corruption Watch, the third respondent, launched an application in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Pretoria for the setting aside of the decision to approve payment to CPS and an order directing CPS to repay SASSA the amount it had received, together with interest.

[4] Tsoka J granted an order in the terms sought by Corruption Watch and refused CPS leave to appeal. The matter is, however, before this court pursuant to leave to appeal having been granted on petition.