Hawks Bill still falls short
After hardly a month and a half, the Police Portfolio Committee finalised its deliberations on the South African Police Service Amendment (SAPS) Bill last night.
The Bill, introduced with only six months left to comply with the Constitutional Court ruling, still contains a number of shortcomings and does not inspire confidence in the independence of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks.
Despite welcomed changes made by the Committee during often heated deliberations in recent weeks, the Bill does not adequately deal with at least five key concerns raised by the Democratic Alliance (DA):
1. The appointment process for the Head of the Hawks is still the overall responsibility of the Minister of Police - with the concurrence of Cabinet. The DA maintains that the appointment should involve a process of consultation with Parliament.
2. Should the Head of the Hawks step on the toes of senior politicians, the Minister of Police may provisionally suspend him or her. This does very little to encourage the Hawks to fight corruption without fear of retribution.
3. The DA holds that financial independence is a prerequisite for independent anti-corruption efforts. The budget of the Hawks remains under the control of the National Police Commissioner and the money allocated to it forms part of the budget vote for the Police. The Hawks, like the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), should have a separate budget vote and require greater financial independence to ensure that they will not face spurious budget cuts or resource constraints when zooming in on corrupt officials and politicians.
4. In terms of section 17E(9)(a) of the Bill, members of the Hawks are bound only to perform their functions impartially and in good faith. Independence is still clearly not a necessary precondition for the execution of their duties.
5. The Hawks and its members remain in the department of police with all the powers, duties and functions of police officers. While it is necessary for the Hawks to have these powers and functions, it is unacceptable that their members operate within the rank-and-file of the SAPS where independence is undermined by a culture of taking orders from superiors without question.
The haste with which this Bill was introduced, deliberated and finalised is of great concern.
It is apparent that there was a predetermined outcome and the bare minimum was done on the Bill in its short time before the committee. It is also unfortunate that Parliament was not given adequate time to consider a menu of options in creating a truly confidence-inspiring corruption-buster for our country.
Similarly, the public submissions and presentations by leading security and legal experts were largely ignored in the deliberations and amendments to the Bill. While the Constitutional Court judgment found that public perception of the unit may very well be that it lacks independence and was open to political interference, very little was done to address this issue.
South Africans deserve an independent, effective and highly specialised, prosecution-driven anti-corruption unit to combat the scourge of corruption that undermines the goals of increasing growth, creating jobs and fighting poverty.
Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, DA Shadow Minister of Police, May 17 2012
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