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Cape Town - Complicated labour laws are a key reason why government fails to discipline corrupt officials who are caught out, the special investigating unit (SIU) told parliament's public accounts committee (Scopa) on Thursday.
SIU head Willie Hofmeyr said some departments were better than others at implementing disciplinary action, but in various areas of the state discipline was "non-existent".
"It is a frustration. The auditor general and accountant general share the same level of frustration," said Hofmeyr.
For example, when government stepped in to investigate cases of corruption in the Eastern Cape in 2007, the SIU found over 5 000 pending disciplinary cases were gathering dust.
While Hofmeyr proposed that government set up a central agency to ensure investigations into corruption are followed through with appropriate disciplinary action, Scopa chairperson Themba Godi disagreed.
"Bringing people from national government is a quick fix but does not address the core problem," said Godi. "You have managers in departments who are employed to manage." He added that some of these managers are not doing their job.
Hofmeyr said complex labour laws played a major role in the limited success the state had in disciplining officials.
"The labour laws make it difficult to deal effectively with disciplinary cases where outside senior counsel is brought in [to defend corrupt officials]," said Hofmeyr.
The SIU also announced plans to expand its present staff complement of 600 to a 2 000-strong unit.
- Fin24.com