The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will fully cooperate with a probe into corruption allegations against a number of its executive members, spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said on Monday.
”We will accept the outcome of the probe and implement whatever recommendations will come of it,” he told the domestic press agency Sapa.
NPA chief executive Marion Sparg and her executive management team faced charges of tender rigging and corruption, the Sunday Times reported.
All members of the NPA’s tender committee would also be hauled before a disciplinary inquiry for tender misconduct.
Sparg and her officials faced nine allegations, ranging from financial misconduct and misappropriation of funds, to contravening the Public Finance Management Act.
They would be ”jointly and severally charged with failure to comply with government regulations”, the paper reported, quoting an ”internal government document”.
The implicated officials would be formally charged before the end of the week.
The alleged transgressions took place during the era of previous National Director of Public Prosecutions director, Bulelani Ngcuka.
Nkosi said on Monday: ”We would want to believe that these officials did nothing wrong. If they did do something wrong, corrective action would have to be taken so that we restore the public’s confidence in the NPA.”
It would be up to the Justice and Constitutional Development department to pursue charges if charges were to be brought.
Asked why this had not happened earlier, Nkosi said matters of administration in the NPA were the final responsibility of the Justice and Constitutional Development department.
”So, we would be perplexed ourselves on why this matter has taken so much time.”
According to the Sunday Times, the charges include causing the
government to incur irregular expenditure by creating or filling posts which were not advertised or evaluated.
The NPA management has been under investigation by the Public Service Commission since 2004.
The commission ordered a probe after receiving anonymous complaints accusing Sparg and other senior NPA officials of corruption.
Sparg, a former Umkhonto weSizwe guerrilla, is in charge of all corporate and financial services in the NPA. – Sapa