OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Tuesday 7.30pm.
JUSTICE Minister Dullah Omar on Tuesday cast a pall over the future of Judge Willem Heath and his anti-corruption watchdog, the Heath Special Investigation Unit.
Speaking before Parliament, Omar questioned the whether having a judge serve full-time on as head of the unit raises the question: “What happens to the independence of the judiciary?”
He said given the political principle and the judicial independence associated with the office of a judge, it should also be asked whether a judge should be doing that type of work. Omar raised the possibility of rationalising the functions of the unit and those of the Public Protector. He stressed that the functions of the Public Protector, the Auditor-General and that of the special investigation unit should be re-defined to avoid duplication.
“Is it appropriate to give the [Heath] investigation unit a blueprint to investigate any kind of irregularity within its mandate, even of a trivial nature, while such a matter can just as well, and even in a less expensive way, be investigated and disposed of,” he said. Omar said there is a proposal that government establish one anti-corruption centre and that a special Cabinet committee be set up to deal with that. These issues, he said, will be examined during an anti-crime summit next month.