Police National Commissioner Bheki Cele on Monday night denied lying to Parliament about the rentals of two buildings that amounted to over R700-million, he said in a statement.
He was responding to media reports over the weekend which suggested that he had lied to Parliament about the rental of the buildings for top police staff.
“It would be best to exercise caution with respect to giving too much reliance to comments of people whose previous working environments are currently subject to serious investigation,” he said.
“The point has to be made that only Parliament can make a finding that it has been misled or not. The generals who are ostensibly the sources behind this allegation are free to assist Parliament in this regard.”
On Sunday, the Democratic Alliance said Cele should resign if the allegation was true.
“If it is found during the Special Investigating Unit (SIU’s) probe that Cele misled the police portfolio committee on Friday, then the DA will have no option but to call for his resignation,” spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard said.
The DA said it would submit parliamentary questions to Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa on various rental issues.
The rental of a building in Durban, now cancelled by the Department of Public Works, would have cost R6-million a month.
The building in Pretoria was rented for about eight months at a cost of R2-million a month.
Proclamation
A spokesperson for the SIU, who declined to be named, told the Mail & Guardian in August that President Jacob Zuma had issued a proclamation on July 30 mandating the SIU to “investigate concerns in the Department of Public Works” over the irregular procurement of goods anfd services, including leased accomodation, and irregular and fruitless expenditure.
This is “one of the biggest ever launched” by the SIU, the spokesperson said. – Sapa