Rampant financial misconduct by Defence employees requires urgent action

12 April 2018

The DA will write to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, as it is astonishing that her department accounts for more than a half of all financial misconduct proceedings reported by the national department.

The DA is also concerned about the slow rate which her department is handling the processing and completion of proceedings against the department’s employees implicated in financial misconduct.

Following a Public Service Commission Report that her department had only completed 18 disciplinary proceedings on 31 March 2016/7 with 175 proceedings incomplete, the DA submitted parliamentary questions to ascertain the progress made in this regard.

In her response, the Minister indicated that between 1 April 2017 and 28 February 2018, the department only managed to complete 21 disciplinary proceedings while initiating another 10. At this rate, it could potentially take the department almost a decade to clear the backlog.

This tardy response is inconsistent with a department committed to accountability and fiscal responsibility.

The DA is concerned about the department’s commitment to recovering the funds lost and we will therefore pose further questions to the Minister to ascertain the full extent of funds lost and funds recouped to date.

The Minister must also inform the public whether cases have been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) where public servants have been found guilty.

The Minister must immediately take decisive action to resolve the backlog of these cases in order to ensure that there is accountability for financial misconduct in her department.

Issued by Kobus Marais, DA Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, 12 April 2018