SCOPA to receive regular updates from Presidency on SIU recommendations
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) today received a briefing from the Presidency on all the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) reports that have been submitted to the President as well as a progress report on the disciplinary case of the Director-General of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
Today’s meeting was a follow-up meeting from a meeting that was held in December last year, where the Minister in the Presidency, Mr Mondli Gungubele, requested more time to collect the information required by the committee. The Minister informed the committee that the President has processed 81 final SIU reports since he took office in 2019 yet there has not been any implementation of the SIU recommendations by the Presidency.
The committee notes that there is agreement with the Presidency that the lapses that are currently at play should not have happened to the extent to which corrective interventions are now required which may prove to be complex in nature when you look at the extent of the backlog in processing these reports.
The committee has requested the Presidency to submit an update of how things are moving within 14 days and a full progress report of the implementation of the SIU recommendations by the end of February. It expects to receive monthly progress reports from the Presidency on the implementation of the recommendations.
The committee is also concerned with the R3.3 million salary that the suspended Director-General of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has received so far while sitting at home. There seems to be an emerging pattern of an abuse of the judicial processes in an attempt to circumvent consequence management. The committee hopes that this matter will be finalised speedily.
The committee appreciates the seriousness with which Mr Gungubele has taken up this matter. This implementation of these recommendations will bring full circle the work that is done by the SIU. There are a number of outstanding disciplinary processes across the government spectrum and this cooperation by the Presidency will ensure that consequence management is applied where it is required.
Furthermore, the committee has expressed its appreciation to the SIU for the good work the unit is doing. In a sea of failure, short comings and incompetence, the SIU remains an island of hope in law enforcement.
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