The SACP welcomes the announcement by the Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula that the Scorpions are going to be dissolved and its members merged with the SAPS to create a new organized crime unit under the direct control of SAPS.

The SACP has over the years pointed out that legislation creating the Scorpions as a unit located within the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions was fundamentally flawed. The combination of investigative and prosecutorial functions under one body was inconsistent with the whole practices of the separation of powers, thus this arrangement was always liable to be abused and violate the rights of individuals as contained in our constitution.

Of serious concern to the SACP has been the creation of two separate centres for criminal investigations, one located in the police and the other in the NDPP. This had already created a serious turf battle between these two investigative arms in our criminal justice system, seriously impairing our capacity to fight crime, including organized crime.

The SACP has also been seriously concerned about the fact that the investigative work of the Scorpions, including its intelligence gathering, was not subject to the same oversight mechanisms as the SAPS and intelligence agencies. The Scorpions, as shown by the so-called Special Browse Mole Report, was also illegally and unofficially involved in collecting political intelligence, something that is way beyond its mandate.

The Scorpions' use of private security and intelligence agencies, neither vetted nor sworn into secrecy posed a very serious threat to the security of our country.

All the above turned the Scorpions into a law unto themselves not accountable to any of our constitutionally and legally established oversight mechanisms. In other words, the legendary abuse of power by the Scorpions, was built into the very legislation locating investigative and prosecutorial functions into one roof.

The SACP wishes to state that it is wholly committed to the escalation of the fight against crime, including organized crime. We also fully subscribe to the mandate of our criminal justice system to peform its duties without fear or favour irrespective of the individuals involved.

We therefore hope that the dissolution of the Scorpions and the location of crime investigations under one authority, the SAPS, will create a better foundation for a co-ordinated crime fighting strategy.

We also hope that the litany of blunders by the Scorpions will serve as a lesson to the new unit under SAPS that never again should we allow our institutions of the criminal justice system to be used for purposes other than what they were set up for. The SACP has for years been concerned for instance about the close proximity of some of the members of the Scorpions to political office-bearers and the media. The SACP is fully aware of the fact that much of the so-called "investigative" journalism on white-collar crimes by some of the media was no investigative journalism at all, but direct and systematic leaks of information by elements within the Scorpions; leaks often directed at discrediting and impairing the dignity of targetted individuals. Let SAPS ensure that such activities become a thing of the past.

The SACP, in line with our 2008 Programme of Action, will continue to mobilize its members and communities in general to throw their weight behind the fight against crime and all forms of corruption.

Statement issued by the South African Communist Party February 13 2008