Legislation to ensure greater cooperation between the Scorpions and the police will be tabled early next year, government communications head Themba Maseko said on Thursday.
During its final fortnightly meeting of the year on Wednesday, the Cabinet had reviewed progress made in implementing the recommendations of the Khampepe Commission regarding the location of the Scorpions, he told a media briefing.
The tensions between the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) were noted and the meeting decided that legal instruments be put in place to ensure greater coordination between these two agencies.
These legal instruments will also outline the roles and responsibilities of the ministers of safety and security and of justice and constitutional development regarding the political oversight over the DSO.
Amendments to legislation in this regard will be tabled before the Cabinet in the new year to institutionalise the Khampepe Commission recommendations, Maseko said.
The Cabinet decided in June that the Scorpions would remain within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), but political oversight would move to the minister of safety and security.
Director General in the Presidency Frank Chikane said at the time the Cabinet made the decision about the Scorpions’ future on the recommendation of the National Security Council, which said it should implement the Khampepe Commission’s recommendations.
The decision meant that while prosecutors in the DSO would continue to receive instructions and be accountable to the director of public prosecutions, the oversight and responsibility of the law-enforcement component would fall under the minister of safety and security. — Sapa