Pikoli saga: Govt worried over SA image
Cape Town, South Africa
11 October 2007 12:47
Government spokesperson Themba Maseko admitted on Thursday that the authorities were worried about the damage being done to the country's international image by the ongoing saga surrounding suspended National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli and police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi.
The Cabinet discussed the issue at its fortnightly meeting in Pretoria on Wednesday and decided that there was no need for President Mbeki to make any pronouncements on the matter as, Maseko said, such a step could pre-empt the outcome of the inquiry being held by Frene Ginwala into the fitness of Pikoli to continue as national director of public prosecutions (NDPP)
The Cabinet also rejected the idea that Pikoli's suspension had created a constitutional crisis. "The government, under the leadership of President Mbeki, remains committed to the doctrine of the separation of powers," Maseko said, "and finds the intimation that suspending the NDPP undermines this doctrine unjustified, misleading and amounts to an extreme exaggeration."
In reply to a question about the country's international image at a media briefing about the Cabinet meeting, Maseko said it was because of concerns about the country's image that the various inquiries were being encouraged to conclude their work as quickly as possible. The team of legal experts being assembled by the acting National Director of Public Prosecutions, Mokotedi Mpshe, to review the decision to prosecute Selebi, will be asked to complete their review within two weeks.
Until the decision to prosecute Selebi had been reviewed, Maseko said the president would not decide whether or not to ask the police chief to go on leave. Maseko also rejected the idea that Ginwala was not a credible person to conduct such an inquiry because of her position as a senior member of the African National Congress. "Dr Ginwala is equal to the task," he said. Maseko also said that the government would meet the deadline in submitting its report to the inquiry on Pikoli.
Maseko said the report was being finalised and would be submitted before the deadline set by the Ginwala. The report would be examined at an official hearing into Pikoli's fitness to hold office.Ginwala has been appointed by President Thabo Mbeki, who suspended Pikoli on September 24, to lead the inquiry.
In a statement on October 4, Ginwala said government would submit its reports "within ten days" on the circumstances leading up to Pikoli's suspension. "I will thereafter solicit a response from advocate Pikoli, together with any additional submission he may wish to make," she said. "The Cabinet calls for patience to be exercised to ensure that the work of the inquiry by Ginwala is not compromised," Maseko said.
'Completely incorrect'
Earlier this week, Selebi's office rejected claims that police regulations require Selebi's suspension while allegations against him are being investigated. Selebi spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said on Tuesday a Freedom Front Plus (FF+) statement in this regard was incorrect, as South African Police Service (SAPS) regulations are not applicable to the national commissioner. "Matters pertaining to the national commissioner, in this context, are regulated by the South African Police Service Act," De Beer said.
Earlier on Tuesday, FF+ MP Pieter Groenewald said it appeared from an answer to a parliamentary question provided by Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula last year that regulations required Selebi's suspension during a probe of allegations against him. De Beer said the response to the question in Parliament related to any investigation by the SAPS into the alleged misconduct of a member of the SAPS. "The SAPS is not conducting an investigation into the national commissioner, which means that the statement of the FF+ is completely incorrect," she said. -- I-Net, Sapa
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