Police watchdog wants funding from the police

Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) executive director Robert McBride says the watchdog’s finances are in such a poor state it has to secure funding transfers from the institution whose officers it is tasked with investigating — the South African Police Service (SAPS).

McBride was briefing MPs on the police committee in Parliament on Wednesday.

He told the committee that Ipid started the 2017-18 financial year with serious budgetary constraints as a result of the previous year’s accruals, which necessitated the watchdog seeking funds from the police.

McBride was, however, adamant that this would not have a negative effect on the watchdog’s independence.

McBride was appearing before the police committee for the first time since being charged with assault. The MPs serving on the committee have debated whether the Ipid boss should be suspended, pending the outcome of his case.

McBride said that the complainant in the matter, who is his daughter, had opted to withdraw the complaint against him and that an alternative settlement would be pursued.

The terms of the settlement were confidential, he said.

The Ipid boss has alleged he was being targeted by the National Prosecuting Authority, which denied this.

In terms of Ipid’s financial situation, McBride said: “We had a lot of spend in the first quarter, which would be accruals from the previous year. We have engaged with the Treasury, the SAPS and SARS [the South African Revenue Service].

“The SAPS has undertaken to share resources with us and we do not believe it will affect our independence,” he said.

Lindokuhle Ngcongo, Ipid’s chief financial officer, said it had received a R255m allocation for 2017-18, which was a moderate rise from the R242m Ipid got in 2016-17. However, this was outstripped by inflation, historical contractual obligations and accruals, she said.

“The budget growth was 5.1%, which translates to R13m in monetary value. The insignificant growth of 5.1% only accommodated current operating costs excluding the 2016-17 accruals that were carried over.”

Marianne Moroasui, Ipid’s head of legal services, said its baseline budget had not been adjusted to accommodate inflation and that accrual compounded the challenge.

“The contractual obligations which grow at a rate of 5% to 10% per annum have not been accommodated, which makes it difficult for the department to honour its annual obligations,” said Moroasui.

DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard said she found it bizarre that Ipid had found itself in a position where it had to ask for money from the institution whose officers it had to investigate. Such a situation should not be allowed to exist.