Amendments to Ipid Act moving ahead

The process of amending the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Act to conform to the prescripts of a Constitutional Court ruling is moving ahead and will be concluded ahead of deadline, according to parliamentarians and police agency officials.

The process of amending the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Act to comply with a Constitutional Court ruling is moving ahead and will be concluded ahead of deadline, according to MPs and police officials.

The court directed Parliament to amend the act as it gave the police minister too much power to suspend or remove an Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) head.

Parliament has until March 2018 to amend the act to comply with the court ruling.

Former police minister Nathi Nhleko wanted to suspend Ipid executive director Robert McBride.

But McBride returned to the helm of Ipid in 2016 after a vicious turf war with Nhleko and former acting national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane.

Parliamentary police portfolio committee chairman Francois Beukman said the committee had concluded the first phase of the amendment process. The work was receiving the attention of the Civilian Secretariat for Police (CSP). “The last time that they appeared before us at a joint meeting, the [secretariat was] ... busy with the amendments,” he said.

“They have finalised what we discussed at the last meeting, but it is not clear where they are,” said Beukman.

The secretariat has indicated that it is at an advanced stage of helping to amend the act.

Beukman said that the secretariat would have to send the product of its work to Parliament for processing by the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.

Police ministry spokesman Vuyo Mhaga said the ministry had not heard of any developments, but was ready to contribute to the process once Parliament called on it to do so.

Mhaga also said that plans were on track for Police Minister Fikile Mbalula to appoint a new head of the Directorate for Priority Criminal Investigations by the end of the year. Yolisa Matakata is acting head.

In the CSP 2016-17 annual report, CSP secretary for police Alvin Rapea said the secretariat was working to resolve expenses it incurred with Ipid in its effort to comply with the Public Finance Management Act.