Omission of critical information unacceptable
The Portfolio Committee on Labour finds it unacceptable that the National Development Labour and Economic Council (Nedlac) did not provide all necessary documentation necessary to look into the forensic report on financial irregularities at Nedlac. As a result, the Committee resolved to send back a delegation from the Department of Labour and the Nedlac that was scheduled to brief the Committee on the forensic report. The Committee is of the view that all necessary documentation are important in order to arrive at an informed decision.
It should be placed on record that the Committee is concerned that despite the request to be provided with all necessary information, Nedlac executives disregarded the Committee. Even more concerning is the fact that the Nedlac executives decided to furnish the committee only with documentation requested by the Democratic Alliance on their Promotion to Access to Information Application request. The Committee views this action as directly undermining its work and in violation of handling confidential documents.
Some of the documentation the Committee required include among others, the decision memorandum by the Audit Committee to undertake the forensic audit as well as information in relation to when the Minister and Director General of the Department of Labour, as accounting officer and political head, were made aware of the suspected irregularities.
“The Committee is committed to undertaking a meticulous analysis of the matter, and to achieve this, the committee will require all necessary documentation to come up with a considered decision. The lack of such supporting documentation hampers the Committee in effectively doing its work,” said Ms Lumka Yengeni, the Chairperson of the Committee.
The Committee maintains its stance that corruption must be rooted out wherever it rears its ugly head. To achieve this, all processes must be above board to ensure that final decisions are not found wanting when subjected to legal scrutiny.
The Committee also raised its concern regarding the non-attendance of the meeting by all conveners from Nedlac. “The Committee views their attendance as critical in giving first hand information on the occurrences at the time. It is with this in mind that the Committee has called for their attendance at the next meeting,” Ms Yengeni emphasised.
The Committee has instructed the delegation to report back to Parliament with the requested documentation and identified persons to enable the Committee to urgently deal with the matter. This engagement will be held as soon as the documents are received by Parliament.
Enquiries:
Malatswa Evans Molepo
Tel: 021 403 8438
Cell: 081 512 7920
Email: mmolepo@parliament.gov.za
