NEHAWU CONDEMNS AND REJECTS THE APPOINTMENT OF ADVOCATE GERHARD VISAGIE AS THE HEAD OF THE SIU

THURSDAY, 05 MARCH, 2015

NEHAWU is deeply shocked and disappointed by President Jacob Zuma's decision to appoint Adv. Gerhard Wilhelm Visagie as new Head of Special Investigations Unit {SIU}. We view this as an ill advised decision by the presidency and a blatant insult to all non-white workers at SIU, who have been waging a bitter fight for the transformation of the SIU.

Advocate Visagie has been very central to workplace instability and also at the forefront of the divisions at SIU, including but not limited to victimization of non-white members, leaking of information, etc. Our union ,representing 70% workers at SIU rejects his appointment and will resist the reversal of the transformation strides that have been made over the last couple of years.

The president has undermined the efforts of transformation by the union and has done the bidding for the Democratic Alliance, that has been trying to take over the SIU for a long time The appointment cannot even be justified on grounds of competency because Adv. Visagie, who was not as the presidency and the media reported an Executive Legal Manager, but a Senior Legal Counsel, has failed to advise the Unit on complex legal matters. The Unit still spends millions of rands on external legal counsel.

Its 60 years after the adoption of the Freedom Charter; 21 years into our democracy , and the message from the Presidency is that South Africa does not have qualified black lawyers to occupy the position of SIU Head.

The history of the SIU simply proves the folly of this decision by the presidency. When it was founded, the SIU was dominated by mainly white former members of the SAPS, legal fraternity, other government departments and former members of the then Security/Special Branch. Most of these members left their previous employments because they were opposed to transformation.

They adopted and used the SIU as the last frontier of white supremacy. As a majority union at SIU, we have seen firsthand, the resistance to transformation and the unhelpful tendencies of these backward-looking elements within SIU. These elements are derailing transformation and progress and they have dramatically opposed all attempts to address the apartheid era divisions and inequalities.

The position of the new Head of the SIU needed a sober and brave individual ,who would be able to resist the dominant white supremacist attitudes and will also fight the growing influence of the Democratic Alliance within the institution. NEHAWU has spent years fighting the white supremacist attitudes at SIU.

The former Head of the SIU, Mr Willie Hofmeyr protected the legacy of white supremacy in the Unit, by placing the majority of white members in executive and strategic positions, like Head of IT (white male), Head of Finance (white male), Head of Legal (white male), and Head of Operations (white male) during his time. He instigated malicious allegations against two non-white senior executive members of the organisation because they were seen to be the stumbling block to the DA's access to sensitive SIU information.

The president has succumbed to a DA inspired conspiracy ,of lamenting about the alleged unsteadiness of the country's law enforcement agencies in order to gain access to these institutions. The DA has been busy complaining about the ruling party interfering with the institutions of Democracy and Chapter 9 institutions; however, they have failed to point out that they have planted their agents in these institutions, who leak information to them. This is the only reason there are information leakages in most of these institutions.

The DA waged a media and legal battle in defence of the former NPA prosecutor Ms Glynnis Breytenbach, when the NPA charged her for misconduct. She later got tired of all the pretence and took off her mask and joined the DA in parliament. The same DA has attacked Adv Nomgcobo Jiba, and Adv Nomvula Mokhatla both from NPA and Miseria Nyathi from the SIU to protect their sphere of influence.

NEHAWU will be mobilizing its members to continue the fight against the DA's anti-transformation agenda. We are clear now ,that this will be achieved without the help from the presidency. But we will not allow the appointment of medically boarded white former SAPS members to senior positions at SIU ,as is currently happening. These SAPS members are enjoying full benefits including pension, promotions and double annual inflationary increases, performance bonuses at both the SAPS and SIU. These members will get double pensions, when they retire perpetuating the existing wage disparities' between white and black South Africans. There are different salary grades for white members (normally high) and black members (low) and these are some of the issues that the DA would like to protect at the SIU.

We are deeply disappointed by the decision of the presidency, but we are not going to abandon the struggle for the transformation of the SIU as an institution. We cannot continue to settle for slogans when talking about transformation and we view the appointment of Advocate Visagie as not only duplicitous but also calamitous.

We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are; the fighters of corruption and dishonesty, wherever it continues to exist in the country. We cannot fight dishonesty in society while allowing the same institutions that are meant to lead the fight, like SIU to get away with deceitfulness. The actions of the president have caused alarm and dismay amongst our members, and given considerable comfort to the enemies of transformation.

Statement issued by Sizwe Pamla, NEHAWU Media Liaison Officer, March 5 2015

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