Question NW2658 to the President of the Republic
19 September 2022 - NW2658
Mbhele, Mr ZN to ask the President of the Republic
(a) What mechanisms and processes has The Presidency set up to monitor implementation of the recommendations of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and ensure that government departments and entities act against those who have violated regulations and broken the law, as announced in the 2022 State of the Nation Address, and (b) how does The Presidency enforce accountability for delays, shortcomings and failures by relevant organs of state and government structures to follow up on SIU findings?
Reply:
The Presidency, including the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, has established a coordinating and monitoring mechanism for the implementation of recommendations and referrals arising from the investigations of the SIU.
The recommendations, referrals and actions of the SIU fall into five categories. These are (1) referrals for criminal investigation and prosecution to the National Prosecuting Authority, (2) referrals for disciplinary processes against officials implicated in wrong-doing to the accounting officers of affected departments and organs of state, (3) referrals for the restricting of suppliers of goods and services who have been implicated in wrongdoing, (4) recommendations for systemic reforms to financial controls, governance and related issues to prevent future occurrences, and (5) the recovery of money through the Special Tribunal.
The implementation environment is therefore highly complex, affecting law enforcement agencies, accounting officers across the three spheres of government and state-owned entities, and those departments mandated to perform oversight. These include the departments of Public Service and Administration and Cooperative Governance, which are responsible with overseeing disciplinary processes in the public service, and the National Treasury, which is responsible for restricting suppliers to government.
The first phase of establishing this coordinating and monitoring mechanism has been completed. This has involved information gathering, business process mapping and problem-solving engagements with the departments and entities central to the implementation of SIU recommendations. This work has produced detailed business process maps of the current implementation ecosystem and has revealed several opportunities for enhancements.
A centralised database has been created of all available information on the implementation of the recommendations, together with a prototype dashboard and analytical capability.
The enhancements that will be tackled in Phase 2 include aligning and standardising data protocols, establishing norms and standards in relation to recommendations, defining escalation procedures where inadequate performance is detected, automating data sharing and reporting processes between the different entities using digital technologies, and formalising structures for cooperation and problem solving.
Phase 2 will be implemented over a 12-month period starting in October 2022.
As part of Phase 1, the Presidency has collated and analysed information from the SIU, National Treasury, National Prosecuting Authority, Department of Public Service and Administration and Department of Cooperative Governance. The outcomes of this exercise have been used to produce a first monitoring report, which was presented to SCOPA on 6 June 2022.
As part of the Phase 1 activities, the Presidency has analysed various datasets to identify performance issues.
For example, as a result of the Presidency-led process, the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer set up interventions to speed up processes with the entities with the largest numbers referrals for restricting suppliers.
This intervention to improve coordination and monitoring of SIU recommendations is one part of a broader wave of action to build state capability to eradicate state capture, corruption and fraud in South Africa.