Deputy Speaker, Hon member, on 10 September 2007 there were indeed charges that were brought with regard to the individuals concerned. One was charged for undertaking overseas trips without proper authorisation, and also failure to follow proper procedures on procurement. The charges against the other related to failure to follow proper procurement procedures.
When these people were suspended, I suppose it took time to finalise the case and since they were suspended with full pay, costs were incurred. In the end there was an agreement to give one a severance package, while the other one resigned. The total of the severance package was R1 172 288; plus the resignation for the other was R873 319, 89. That was the cost of the suspension plus the severance package and the resignation, because the other one decided to resign instead of defend the case. Those were the expenses. And this happened in 2007. Thank you.
Deputy Speaker, thank you, Minister, for your response. The concern here is that the longer it takes for the disciplinary procedures to be finalised, the more the department is incurring costs in the form of salaries to people who are no longer adding value to the objectives of the department. The sooner the disciplinary procedures are finalised, the better it will be for the department.
I would just like to ask the Minister if there are any measures in place by the department to detect malpractices by department officials earlier. Thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, I agree with the hon member; the shorter the process, the better. But at the same time there are processes that have to be followed, because if short cuts are taken, we might end up not being able to achieve what we want to achieve. There are stipulations, for example a number of days to be given to a person, a number of witnesses that the person may require at the hearing, etc. I agree with you, but at the same time procedures have to be followed.
Yes, as in any other department, there are measures in place. Whether the measures are adequate is another question, but there are measures in place. There is an internal audit committee; there is an internal tender committee; there is an audit committee and other measures in place, as in any other department. Thank you.
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