Special Investigating UnitSpecial Investigating Unit

Presentation to Parliament - 5 June 2002

Willie Hofmeyr

Head: SIU

Mission Mission SStatementtatement

The SIU is committed to providing the highest quality professional forensic investigation and litigation service to all state institutions at national, provincial and local levels

 The activities of the SIU are designed

effectively to combat maladministration, corruption and fraud involving state institutions and to protect state assets and public money

Advantages of SIUAdvantages of SIUUnique role – it is the only institution that

uses the civil law to recover money or assets

Can do whole process – from investigation to final litigation

Need not prove case beyond a reasonable doubt, only on a balance of probabilities

In civil law a negligent or even innocent misrepresentation is sufficient, unlike criminal fraud where state has to prove subjective intent

Effective and economic Effective and economic investigationsinvestigations

Provides forensic investigations at no additional cost to government

Can match almost all private sector services at about a third of the cost

Provide a proper completed investigation since it has full investigative powers and members can take proper affidavits

After private investigations reports usually need to be backed by proper evidence leading to delays

(Cont)(Cont)

Also assist with the investigation and prosecution of the criminal matter alleviating the resource constraints in the criminal justice system

Special Tribunal speed up litigation as opposed to the lengthy delays that may occur in other courts

Building PartnershipsBuilding PartnershipsSIU sees its main role as working with

governmentOccasionally this is difficult or even

impossible – eg when a senior official is investigated the department may resist investigation

It is vital to build partnerships with the various government departments that have the need for ongoing investigations

Sensible to spend some of the funds going to the private sector on working with the SIU and building its capacity

Means more economic and effective investigations

And building capacity in the state that will be permanently available to fight corruption

OVERVIEWOVERVIEW PERIOD TO 31 JULY 2001 PERIOD TO 31 JULY 2001

Generally this period was marked by much uncertainty

The SAAPIL judgment The SAAPIL judgment The Constitutional Court ruled in

November 2000 in the SA Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (SAAPIL) matter that a judge could not head SIU

The State was given a year in which to remedy the situation

The head of the SIU, former judge Willem Heath, subsequently took long leave, and later resigned to take up a position in the private sector.

Henning auditHenning auditMinister of Justice requested the NDPP to

carry out a due diligence auditJan Henning SC was appointed and did an

excellent report – owe him a debt of gratitudeCritical of some aspects of the work of SIUConcluded though that SIU did extremely

valuable work, had unique powers to combat corruption and had skilled staff that could play a vital role in the fight against corruption

Recommended SIU to continue with work

Consequences of Consequences of uncertaintyuncertainty

About one third of all staff members left for other positions, incl many investigators and lawyers

Henning audit was vital for the future most staff were involved in preparing material for the audit, little investigative or legal work could be done in the period from March to July 2001

No new cases were referred to the SIU resulting in much time being spent on very old cases with little prospect of visible results

(cont)(cont)Lack of a head aggravated the situation –

although management committee did excellent job under trying circumstances

Uncertainty lead to amendments to the Act required for the efficient functioning not being processed, and this had a further debilitating effect on the ability of the SIU to perform its functions

OVERVIEWOVERVIEW PERIOD AFTER JULY 2001 PERIOD AFTER JULY 2001

After appointment of new headImmediate steps were taken to address the

problems outlined above, A 10 point strategy was developed with the

management of the SIU to put it “back in business” as one of the premier corruption fighting institutions

1. Creating certainty about 1. Creating certainty about the future of the SIUthe future of the SIU

Major challenges to create certainty about the future of the SIU for its staff

Largely addressed by Henning audit endorsed by Minister

Appointment of a new head made government’s commitment to the SIU clear

Regular meetings with Minister and NDPPDPSA strategy recognises role of SIU

2. Referring new cases2. Referring new cases

New cases vital to address the morale, and a visible gesture that it was “back in business”

Several new cases referred and others approved in principle and in the process

3. Filling vacancies3. Filling vacanciesImmediate priority was to fill 40 vacancies

since this impacted seriously on its capacitySuccessfully concluded by the end of 2001It was encouraging that a significant number

of those who had left were willing to apply for the vacant positions once there was greater certainty about the future of the SIU

4. Improving representivity 4. Improving representivity Employment equity plan is in place plus

employment equity forum  A major focus of the recruitment drive was

to improve the representivity, especially at a management level

Challenge in financial investigations, but achieved good progress

5. Ensure Competitive 5. Ensure Competitive SalariesSalaries

Priority to re-evaluate the salary structure of the SIU to ensure it can compete for best skills 

Proposal submitted to Minister

6. Promoting greater 6. Promoting greater efficiencyefficiency

Henning audit identified delays as problem Restructured SIU on a project management

approachSuccessful in introducing clearer time

frames and greater accountability

7. Legal changes to 7. Legal changes to improve effectivenessimprove effectiveness

Effectiveness of SIU severely affected by a number of judgements

In addition, the present process is ineffective

Adv Wim Trengove SC briefed for advice on possible amendments, as well as on related constitutional issues

Minister proposes to table in Parliament in the second half of the year

8. Establishing national 8. Establishing national presencepresence

Previously SIU based in East London with teams focussed on each province

Decided that it would be more effective to establish a national presence

Pretoria office set up, small offices in Durban, Umtata

9. Improved cooperation 9. Improved cooperation with law enforcementwith law enforcement

A special effort has been made to improve cooperation with other law enforcement agencies to ensure effective criminal action where evidence is available indicating a criminal offence

With resource constraints in the criminal justice system, not sufficient simply to refer matters to the police or NPA since there may not always be the capacity to deal with them adequately

Made investigators available to assist the police in compiling dockets that are court-ready

Eg Nontenja prosecution in Umtata where the SIU investigator prepared docket and will assist in court during the prosecution

Bisho massacre: SIU investigators assisted with leading evidence and tracing witnesses

Exciting development is that NDPP is prepared to give delegations to experienced lawyers in the SIU to do the actual prosecution in cases investigated by the SIU

10. Building partnerships 10. Building partnerships with governmentwith government

Already covered

Notable casesNotable casesNontenja – Umtata attorney who defrauded

state attorney of R19m - Prosecution about to commence

Lead to wider investigation of work of state attorney with DoJ

Witness Protection Program (KZN) investigation of widespread corruption by officials of the WPP in conjunction with NPS, DSO and SAPS

CasesCasesKZN Tare Weight investigation of

fraudulently reduced licence weights of vehicles resulting in losses of millions

Limpopo investigation of all drivers licences issued since 1994 in cooperation with Dept of Transport

Housing investigationHousing investigationMassive investigations of all state subsidies

granted in Gauteng, KZN and N Cape – valuable lessons learnt

Included are several conveyancers entrusted with housing money, incl Mfeka, Mlaba Mkaya, Mvelase

Discussing a permanent national project with Minister of Housing

Univ Natal Law Clinic to assist small victims

Administrative aspectsAdministrative aspects

Excellent administration and financial controls

PFMA compliantGood use of information technologySerious about training – eg CBT

Thank you