DA condemns Police Committee's rubber-stamping appointment of new IPID head
15 July 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) condemns the decision taken by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police to support the Police Minister, Bheki Cele’s nomination of Jennifer DikelediNtlatseng as the new Executive Director of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
The DA does not support this appointment and believes that Parliament has again been relegated to nothing more than a rubber stamp of the ANC.
There is currently a case before the courts regarding the renewal process of the former IPID head and earlier this year the Minister himself missed his own legislated deadline to appoint a new head of IPID.
Our repeated appeals against this flawed nomination process have been blatantly ignored by the Committee and it is our view that the nomination of Ms Ntlatseng as IPID head contravenes Section 6 (5) of the IPID Act which requires the vacancy to be filled within one year.
The Speaker of Parliament was clear, in responding to the Minister’s request for an extension to the nomination process in April, when she stated, in reference to Section 6 (5) of the Act, that “The wording of this particular provision is very specific and does not allow for any extension to be granted, even by Parliament”. The Speaker went further to say, “That the vacancy remains unfilled since becoming vacant in February 2019 is, on the face of it, a breach of the Act"
The fact is the entire process is fatally flawed and has been shrouded in secrecy while the selection panel was loaded with ANC politicians. This, in and of itself, leaves a cloud of suspicion and doubt hanging over the nomination and appointment processes.
Since November 2019 the DA has consistently submitted proposals and appeals, to both the Minister and Parliament, calling for the nomination process to be thoroughly reviewed in order to ensure that it is open and transparent.
The DA did not only stop at raising critical questions regarding the flawed nomination process, but has also submitted our new Private Members Bill to ensure independence and to amend the IPID Act to limit the powers of the Police Minister in appointing the executive director of the police watchdog.
The DA’s PMB proposed the following:
That amendments be made to Section 6 of the IPID Act in order to allow for an independent panel to shortlist candidates;
That Parliament must lead the nomination process;
The Minister must appoint an IPID head following the recommendation of the National Assembly; and
The process will also allow for public comments on the shortlisted candidates
This failure to accede to our request to amend the IPID Act prior to the appointment of a permanent head, stifles its independence and will jeopardize the integrity of the police watchdog.
The DA believes that IPID the most critically important institution tasked with cleaning out the corruption which has taken root in SAPS.
The DA will continue to fight for Parliament to fulfil its role to hold the executive to account and conduct thorough oversight. Today, it has failed.
Issued by Andrew Whitfield, DA Shadow Minister of Police, 15 July 2020
