A thorough review of the Scorpions elite detective unit is underway, Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi indicated on Monday.
”We have a sense of where there are complexities and where there may be duplications and are looking at this quite closely,” she told reporters in Pretoria.
Fraser-Moleketi sought to dispel any link between the review and the current furore over the role of the unit.
”It’s very normal and should not be seen in a particular way. In a well-functioning public service you need to review all your institutions of state … regularly,” she said.
”It has been about five years that the Scorpions has been in place. It’s appropriate to do a review now.”
The Scorpions, which falls under the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions, has come under fire in the past week for alleged leaks to the media about its investigations.
These related to an arms deal probe into Deputy President Jacob Zuma and an investigation into former transport minister Mac Maharaj.
Last week, President Thabo Mbeki said ”inherent” tensions between the SA Police Service (SAPS) and the Scorpions had to be dealt with.
He said the problem was a structural one, and a possible alternative was the Scorpions becoming a specialised police unit.
Fraser-Moleketi would not give details of what the review entailed, and said its outcome should not be pre-empted.
Contradictions were bound to arise with the establishment of a special agency such as the Scorpions, the minister said.
”We have been quite conscious of this, as Cabinet, over a period of time. We have seen here is not unique.”
Several complexities had to be examined.
There was, for example, a difference between the salaries of the police and members of the Scorpions.
”If we were to look at immediate integration (of the Scorpions into SAPS), we also need to look at how we deal with the complex issue of remuneration,” Fraser-Moleketi said.
Another problem was how to deal with prosecutors serving in the Scorpions.
Prosecutors did not form part of the SAPS, and fell under the department of justice.
”We need to deal with all these issues,” Fraser-Moleketi said. – Sapa