NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO 2172
Mr A P van der Westhuizen (DA) to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry:
(1) What (a) steps were taken against the five staff members of the
Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) who
were suspended in 2009, (b) were the charges and (c) the outcome;
(2) whether the chief executive officer (CEO) of Cipro laid charges with
the SA Police Service or submitted a signed statement to enable them
to proceed with the investigation regarding possible charges against
persons who are reported to have committed fraud within Cipro; if so,
when;
(3) what impact has ValorITâs new system had on (a) name duplications and
(b) the electronic submission of annual returns of companies and close
corporations to Cipro;
(4) whether measures are in place to ensure that no more name
duplications will occur at Cipro; if not, what is the position in this
regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW2875E
REPLY:
(1) (a) Disciplinary action against the five (5) Cipro officials will be
determined after the disciplinary hearings in November 2009.
(b)The five (5) Cipro official face charges ranging from corruption,
fraud to the non compliance of procedures.
(c)The disciplinary hearings are scheduled for November 2009 as per
agreement with organised labour.
(2) The CEO is awaiting the outcome of the disciplinary hearing in
November 2009 to determine whether any criminal charges should be laid
against guilty parties.
(3) (a)-(b) ValorIT was appointed to replace all business application
systems currently in use. However, it is not yet operational and has
not been implemented.
(4) The following measures have been implemented at Cipro to ensure that
no further name duplications will occur in future-
⢠New search criteria were implemented which ensures a wider set of
results from the system, giving the name approver a wider choice
⢠Formal daily spot checks by the supervisor and manager, and using
such input for the formal weekly training on Thursdays
⢠A quality improvement team conducts a 10% sample quality audit
report of the work produced by the names team daily. The quality
reports also allow for mitigation of actions that can be taken by
management
⢠A name search manual was developed by Cipro and has been circulated
amongst the team members for ease of reference and ensuring
consistency of practice
⢠There are new controls measures with regards to companies that
claim association with a mother entity. Applicants are required to
submit a certified copy of their ID as well as obtain consent from
the mother company on the particular companyâs letterhead before
any approval can be granted
⢠The new ECM system will add further internal control measures to
prevent registration of duplicate names