Deadlock over deadlines as police corruption probe stalls

Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee investigating police corruption was at loggerheads this afternoon over how much more time is needed to produce a draft report following almost six months of hearings.

The committee was due to complete its work on Tuesday, in accordance with a third extension granted by the National Assembly. However, Speaker Thoko Didiza has granted the committee one additional month to conclude its mandate—a timeline the majority of parties believe is unachievable.

After failing to meet last week to discuss the schedule for drafting and deliberating on the report, the committee debated a proposed programme with a May deadline on Tuesday.

Evidence leaders noted significant logistical backlogs, stating they have received just over 40% of the hearing transcripts. Furthermore, they cautioned that in the upcoming term, parliamentary staff and committees will be primarily focused on budget matters.

Despite these concerns, African National Congress Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli urged MPs and committee staff to push toward an April deadline.

But the Democratic Alliance’s Glynnis Breytenbach said parliamentary staff are already burning the candle at both ends - and it would be embarrassing if the committee could once again not meet an unrealistic new deadline.

"Even if they worked 24 hours a day, they can’t get it done. It’s humanly not possible to do it."

The Economic Freedom Fighters’ Leigh-Anne Matthys agreed.

"It’s not going to be a rubber stamp that the technical team or even the evidence leader is just going to produce a report, and we are just going to rubber-stamp."

ActionSA and Freedom Front Plus also did not think the proposed deadlines were attainable.

Meanwhile, the MK Party’s David Skosana said he believed the committee had failed in its duties anyway, by not including the judiciary and correctional services in its probe, and that the committee needs an extension of another five to six months to do so.

Without a consensus being reached, Chairperson Soviet Lekganyane suggested that for now, parliamentary staff work towards the April deadline and then reassess how much more time is needed.