Two justice & constitutional development officials, one being director-general Doctor Mashabane, have taken the fall for procurement snafus that delayed a high-profile inquiry into allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system.
Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi on Tuesday told journalists she had issued Mashabane with a “letter of intention” to suspend him after the Madlanga commission was delayed due to procurement issues.
The much-anticipated commission, established to probe damning allegations of criminal infiltration in the security cluster made by KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi in July, was set to start on September 1.
When he announced the commission, President Cyril Ramaphosa talked tough on its timelines, saying he expected it to finalise the first report in three months.
Kubayi said the first report would not be finalised on time because some of the infrastructure needed for the commission’s operations was not yet in place.
She said she had notified Ramaphosa of the hurdles on Friday last week and immediately suspended the department’s information and communication technology (ICT) deputy director-general Jabu Hlatshwayo.
“The president then delegated to me powers to institute disciplinary proceedings against the director-general of the department, advocate Doctor Mashabane, and this decision has been communicated to him this [Tuesday] afternoon,” she said.
Mashabane’s term ends in February, Kubayi said, and the department would not renew his contract.
Kubayi did not share further details on Mashabane’s pending suspension adding that the department had not yet finalised the legal process.
She said the department had completed most of the procurement and the only outstanding issues were some ICT infrastructure needed and finalisation of the protection of witnesses guidelines.
The commission would be able to announce the starting date soon, she said.
“Almost everything has been done. All the procurement that was outstanding on ICT, which is the hurdle that causes [for us to be] where we are, has been resolved,” she said.
“We will allow the commission to announce their new date following our report of what they have asked us to do and have done.”
Kubayi was adamant that the delay would not be long.
“The commission was expected to start at a particular date, and within three months provide a preliminary report. We have advised the president that the report will not be ready on the date he expected, but I do not expect too much extension,” Kubayi said.
“The president is not interested in long extensions — that is why he called for consequence management.”
The delay has put the president in a vulnerable position against his detractors, who are likely to hold up this episode as the latest example of his failure to convert anticorruption bravado into action. The duration of the commission has been a point of litigation in a legal challenge by former president Jacob Zuma against his successor, Ramaphosa.
Zuma and his MK party want the establishment of the commission set aside. He argues it is likely to take longer than six months without yielding results.
Unisa political analyst Prof Dirk Kotze said it was anticipated that the commission would be delayed, but it would not be a good reflection on the president.
“It was to be expected because previous commissions took a long time to be established. In this one, there has to be a special type of secured communication system because it might have to deal with classified information as well,” he said.
Kotze said the delays confirmed public opinion that the commission could take longer than six months.
“In the end, it will all depend on what is the final outcome of all of this. That is going to be the main determining factor, whether it is going to be something of substance and if the public will be satisfied.”
Wits political analyst Prof Daryl Glaser said the delay further eroded public trust in Ramaphosa’s decision to establish a commission.
He said if the commission did not start soon, it would affect its credibility among the public.
In a statement on Tuesday, Madlanga assured the public the commission was “doing everything within its power to ensure that the first witness will take the stand as soon as possible after everything has been procured by the department”.
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